


Remember Atlantis

by stella_pegasi



Category: Stargate - All Series, Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst, Gen, Gen Fic, Hurt/Comfort, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-09-27
Updated: 2010-11-26
Packaged: 2017-10-12 05:56:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 56,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/121561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stella_pegasi/pseuds/stella_pegasi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Colonel John Sheppard wakes up after suffering a serious injury to find the memories he holds aren't real. Or are they?  Now, he has to determine which reality is really his.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Awakening

**Author's Note:**

> Word Count: Chapter 1: 3,955  
> Spoilers: No blatant spoilers…some mention of events related to Stargate overall.  
> Warnings: Language
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own them; I would have treated them better.
> 
> Author's Notes: Events in this story do relate back to another story I wrote called ANOTHER LIFE which is currently posted on fanfiction.net. If you have read that story, you will recognize the common thread. However, it is not necessary to read that story first.
> 
> This is a multi-chapter story and is complete. I will post the first chapters over the next few days. The last few chapters are currently in edit; bless my beta. The entire story will be posted as soon as possible.
> 
> Hope you enjoy; as always, I would love to hear from you.

REMEMBER ATLANTIS

By stella_pegasi

Chapter One Awakening

The slight squeak of rubber soled shoes sliding across a tiled floor was the first sound he heard. Soft, murmuring voices drifted to him from a distance, but the words were indistinguishable. Straining to understand the voices sent sharp pains through his head, and he stopped trying.

He was becoming aware of his body; with each breath, new sensations inundated his mind. He was lying on something soft, a bed; the sheets silky, slick, beneath his fingers. As the pain subsided, he struggled to open his eyes. His eyelids fluttered gently, until he regained control, and his eyes remained open. Squinting, as he adapted to the growing light, he noticed several dark shapes lurking in the shadows, slowing focusing into objects.

Light spilled from an oversized window to his left, filtered through the thin slatted blinds. Pale drapes, falling from the ceiling along each side of the window, billowed toward the bed. He felt a soft, fragrant breeze drift across his face. The cool air, wafting through the raised window, was soothing, invigorating. His breath caught, when through the shadows, he spotted the silhouette of a small, human shape nestled in a chair. His heart beating rapidly as the realization of who was sitting quietly beside him sank in.

A familiar, petite woman sat in a wing-back chair beside his bed. Her head rested against an upholstered wing; she appeared to be sleeping. He focused on her face; her skin, the color of malt chocolate, and he knew her eyes were a startlingly, deep blue. He desperately wanted to hear her voice, to hear the soft, sing-song lilt of the Caribbean.

Opening his mouth to speak, he only managed to utter a low, raspy croak on his first try. As the tiny woman began to react to the sound of his voice interrupting her sleep, he attempted to speak again. He managed to say her name; his voice weak, raspy, but intelligible.

"Miss Gilly," he struggled to lift his trembling hand. Weakly, he reached for the woman who had raised him following his mother's death.

He felt a soft, warm hand encircle his, clasping his long fingers securely. Her other warm hand, softly stroked his cheek. Peering into her deep blue eyes, which were brimming with tears, he saw jubilation reflected in her face.

"John, my precious John, you're awake. I told these fool doctors, over and over, that you would never leave us this way." Grasping his hand even tighter, Miss Gilly pressed the call button for help. Tears were spilling down her face, as she informed the nurse who answered the call that Colonel Sheppard was awake.  


Seconds later, a nurse rushed into the room, and quickly began examining John. Smiling at Miss Gilly, and then at him, she said, "Well, Colonel Sheppard, welcome back. We were all very apprehensive that you might want to stay asleep, but it appears that we were wrong. This lovely lady, however, maintained a positive attitude, and she was correct. You have awakened."

"Where am I?" John attempted to move into a more comfortable position, but he was extremely weak. As he tried to push his body into an upright position, his muscles would not cooperate.

The nurse answered, as she helped him get comfortable, "Colonel. You're in a private hospital in Washington, D.C.; your family wanted you close, and the Air Force could provide medical care for you here. When Miss Gilly gave us the good news that you were awake, we immediately contacted your doctor. He should arrive here shortly. I'm your private day nurse, Melanie. While we're waiting for your doctor, what do you need, colonel?"

He weakly answered, "Water?"

She smiled, "Of course, colonel, I'm sorry. I should have asked if you were thirsty." Pouring a glass of water for him, she helped him hold the glass as he drank. Allowing him only a few sips, she put the glass down, "Not too much at one time, colonel. You aren't used to swallowing fluids; I'll give you another sip in a few minutes. Now, I know you just woke up, but I don't want you talking or moving around too much until Dr. Beckett has examined you."

"Dr. Beckett? Carson's here?" John asked, flashing a look of surprise, first at Melanie, then at Miss Gilly.

Melanie glanced at Miss Gilly with a look of concern on her face. When she looked back at him, she casually asked John, "You know Dr. Beckett?" He nodded, laying his head back against the pillows.

Melanie smiled at him, "I know that you must have a lot of questions, colonel. I think that Dr. Beckett should be the one to answer those questions for you. The hospital administrator has contacted General Landry to let him know that you are awake. He has also called your family. Now, rest and don't pester Miss Gilly with questions. I'll be back in a few minutes."

John turned to Miss Gilly as soon as the nurse left, "How long have I been here, Miss Gilly?"

"Now, John, Melanie wants Dr. Beckett to examine you before we answer any questions. Please trust me, and be patient, Dr. Beckett is a good man, he'll tell you everything."

"I know Beckett's a good man, I just…umm…getting tired." He sank further into the pillows, closing his eyes.

"John, John…oh, I hope you are only asleep, please don't go away again."

He squeezed her hand gently, muttering, "I'm here, Miss Gilly, just…tired. Not going to go away again" He dozed off, holding her hand.

~ooOOOoo~

Sheppard felt a strong hand on his shoulder, gently shaking him, then a voice entered his head, "Colonel, wake up. Come on, laddie, you can wake up." He opened his eyes, and found himself looking into the bright blue eyes of Dr. Carson Beckett.

Struggling to rise, Sheppard spoke, his voice still raspy, "Carson…stop…shaking me, I'm awake."

A grin passed over Beckett's face. "Good to hear you being so cheeky, colonel. Even after being in a coma, your brain seems to be working just fine."

"Help me sit up; I slid down in the bed when I fell asleep." Carson and Melanie, who came in with the doctor, pulled John up into the bed; Melanie adding pillows behind him.

Dr. Beckett waited for him to get settled and then began an examination, checking the colonel's vital signs, his reflexes, his pupil reactions, asked him questions about who was president, what year it was, simple basic medicine. When he seemed satisfied with the results, he pulled a stool over to the bed and sat down.

"Colonel, tell me what you last remember."

Sheppard closed his eyes, and tried to concentrate. Visions of a large grassy plain floated across his memory, he and his team were being chased by several men as they ran toward the stargate. He began to relate his memories to Carson.

"We were running through a large field, being chased by some men. Teyla reached the DHD first, and began dialing Atlantis. Rodney, Ronon and I reached Teyla as the gate engaged, and we started running toward the event horizon. They made it through the gate; I didn't. The men who were chasing us caught up with me, and hit me with some kind of stunner. That's the last I remember."

Beckett exchanged glances with Gilly and Melanie, then smiled at Sheppard, "That sounds like an interesting dream, colonel. However, I mean what is the last real situation you remember happening to you."

John looked at Beckett and Melanie, then over to Miss Gilly, who was standing on the other side of the bed. They were all staring at him, as though he was barmy. "Carson that was the last real situation I remember. McKay, Teyla, and Ronon returned to Atlantis. I guess I was rescued; I suppose injured, and ended up here."

"John…" Dr. Beckett began to reply, then stopped; he stood up and whispered to Melanie, who left the room. "John, I don't understand. I've never heard of the people who you say you were with or this 'stargate'. As for Atlantis, are you talking about the mythological city; you must have been dreaming about it."

John could feel his heartbeat begin to increase rapidly; his heart slamming against his chest wall. His skin felt flush as a spike of adrenaline coursed through his body.

"Carson, what the hell are you talking about; you serve on Atlantis with us. Where's Rodney? Carson, tell me where Rodney is; I want to talk to Rodney now." John was becoming agitated; he threw the covers away from him, pushing himself off the bed. Beckett grabbed his arm, but Sheppard jerked his arm from Beckett's grasp, "Let me go, I have to go find Rodney, and Teyla, and Ronon."

"John, calm down, or I will have to sedate you. You are too weak to go anywhere. We'll get this sorted out." He was attempting to keep Sheppard from getting out of bed with little success. The colonel was physically weakened, but still able to put up a fight. Melanie returned, seeing Beckett struggling to prevent Sheppard from rising from his bed. She shouted for assistance as she hurried to help Beckett. Within seconds, two burly security guards rushed into the room and subdued the colonel.

"Melanie, do you have the sedative?" Beckett's voice was strained.

The nurse handed him the loaded syringe, and he injected the contents into Sheppard's IV port.

Sheppard continued to struggle until the sedative began to work. He tried to stay awake, but the drug was simply too powerful. The last image he saw, as his vision faded into darkness, was a pair of bright blue eyes watching him.

~ooOOOoo~

John began to awaken, very groggy from the sedative. Darkness shrouded the room, and he turned his head slightly toward the window, to confirm that night had indeed fallen. From across the room, he could hear several quiet voices engaged in conversation. He strained to hear what the voices were saying, knowing the conversation was about him.

A velvety, melodious female voice drifted toward him, "Dr. Beckett, how did he know you? The Air Force assigned you to his case after his injury. Until today, you and John were strangers. How do you explain this?"

"I don't know what to tell you other than to relate the facts. His brain injury is healed; I don't see any organic reason for his memory problem. Of course, there may be scarring which is causing interference in his synaptic processes. I am not a psychiatrist, so anything I say is conjecture. I have called for Dr. Ross Warren to consult; he is an Air Force psychiatrist, and he's excellent."

"Doctor, what are you telling us? Are you saying that he doesn't remember his real life? That he's babbling this nonsense about some mythical place and people we've never heard of, and he believes it? What the hell happened to him, Beckett? I know he suffered a major head injury in that helicopter crash, but were you expecting this?"

John opened his eyes slightly, trying to focus on the vague images standing across the room. He thought the low voice belonged to his brother, Dave. He didn't understand what Dave was saying; his brother had no knowledge of Atlantis, it was classified. Why would Beckett be talking to him about where John was assigned?

He strained to see in the darkened room, just able to discern bodies several feet away. He was certain that the tall, slender man was Dave. He recognized Beckett, who was facing him, but who was the petite woman standing next to Dave, facing Beckett. John felt he knew her. Her thick dark blond hair curled softly about her head; though tiny, her curves were lush, enticing. He had to know, so he decided to make them aware he was awake.

"Dave," he uttered softly, his voice gravelly from not speaking. The tall, slender man turned swiftly at the sound of his voice, as did the woman. When he saw her face, his heart skipped a beat, then began to slam hard in his chest. It simply couldn't be her; she only existed in his dreams. Although the ascended Ancient, Teer, had promised him that his destiny was to meet the lovely Isabella, she had yet to enter his life. How could Isabella be here? The tiny beauty had whirled around in reaction to his voice, a beaming smile crossing her beautiful face, as she rushed toward him. She slid her arms around his shoulders, hugging him tightly. Feeling her body against his, her soft lips and warm breath on his neck, whispering his name; he couldn't deny she was real. For one moment, he gave into his need to hold her.

"John, we've been so fearful that you would never wake up. It's so good to look into your green eyes again, like looking into Mom's; I missed that." Dave touched his right hand, which was resting lightly on Isabella's back, then gripped John's hand tightly. Dave's blue eyes, so like their father's, damp with tears, "We'll deal with this confusion you're having, and we'll deal with it together. Isabella and I will be right here with you."

The woman lying against him, pulled away, her left hand caressing his face. Leaning down, she brushed his lips with hers, then sat upright again. Her forest green eyes were glistening with tears, "I thought I'd never have the chance to look into your eyes again. Oh, John, I love you; I'm so happy you're back with us." Tears began to stream across her cheeks.

"Bella? I…didn't expect you here."

"John, why would you think I wouldn't be here. I'm your wife; I love you. Where else would I be?"

"Wife? You're not…my wife. I mean, you're not my…uh…ex-wife." John felt panic building; he'd divorced Nancy. He wasn't married. He certainly wasn't married to Isabella.

Isabella turned to look at Dave; her eyes filled with fright, "Dave, what…"

Dave spoke quietly, trying to reassure his confused brother, "No, John, you can't think Isabella would divorce you because you've been in a coma for so long. I can assure you; she's been here everyday with you. We had to beg her to leave but for even short periods of time. No, she loves you; she would never leave you, or divorce you." Dave squeezed John's shoulder tightly, hoping to calm him down.

"What's wrong, John? It's perfectly understandable that you would be confused after what you have been through. Yet, you seem more than confused; you're looking at me like you don't even know who I am, and that scares me, John." Isabella backed away from the bedside, leaning against Dave.

"Bella, I do know you, or sort of know you. The fact is, you should only exist, for the moment, in my dreams. Yet, this doesn't feel like a dream, and it doesn't feel real." The strain he was feeling creeping into his voice.

Her deep green eyes filled with tears, "I don't understand, why I should only be in your dreams? I'm your wife, I love you."

John was agitated, but he struggled to remain calm, trying to think clearly. "Honestly, I don't understand either. Something is very wrong, Bella. The one thing I do know that's real is how I feel about you. It's just that I don't remember meeting you, yet."

Dr. Beckett moved closer to the bed. "John what do you remember."

"Carson, you know who I am. I am Colonel John Sheppard, United States Air Force, and I am currently the military commander of the Atlantis Expedition, located in the Pegasus galaxy. I've been in command there for nearly six years. I am not married, not to Isabella or anyone. I was married to a woman named Nancy, but we divorced nearly ten years ago. I do recognize Isabella, but only because she's appeared before in my dreams. I am supposed to meet her, at some point in the future. Teer told me I would meet her, but it hasn't happened yet." John was beginning to feel panic overcome him. "Carson, what's going on here? Why are you looking at me like that? Why are you all looking at me like I'm crazy?"

Beckett, nodded to Melanie who left the room, then the doctor sat down on the stool next to Sheppard's bed. "John, you are very confused; a result of the serious head injury you suffered in a helicopter accident. You are a colonel in the Air Force, but you are not stationed in another galaxy. You are the commander of an elite multi-agency Special Operations division that reports to the Joint Chiefs of Staff. You live in Chevy Chase with your lovely wife, Isabella, to whom you have been married for four years. Your brother and his wife live in Bethesda; and he runs the energy and utility business started by your late father. You have been in a coma for five months, John. Most of your doctors did not believe you would wake up. It's understandable that you are confused." He patted John on the arm, but John jerked his arm away.

"No, no…this isn't real; damn it, Carson, you know this isn't real. We've known each other since Antarctica. You fired a drone at me, nearly knocking my helo out of the sky; you almost killed General O'Neill and me. You were there when I sat in the chair and found out that I had the Ancient gene. Carson, please; you have to tell them the truth." He was becoming quite agitated, and he desperately wanted out of the bed. Lying on his back with everyone staring at him was making John feel extremely vulnerable. He started to get up, but didn't get far before Beckett pushed him back against the bed. As he fought Beckett, Dave rushed to help the doctor.

Dave pleaded with his brother, "John. I know you're confused, but you have to trust us. We're telling you the truth, I swear. You've never met Dr. Beckett before. He became your primary physician when General Landry ordered everything that could be done for you, done. John, you've never seen him before today."

Beckett and Dave restrained John as best they could despite his continued struggles. Returning with two security guards, who quickly subdued the colonel, Melanie handed Beckett a syringe. Quickly, the doctor injected a sedative into John's IV port.

As he struggled against the sedative's effect, with little success, he gazed at Isabella. Although she was crying, her eyes never wandered from his face. As his vision faded, John longed for her to be real. However, he knew she wasn't, and that he wasn't wrong. What he had just experienced was not real.

~ooOOOoo~

His room was dark except for a dim beam of moonlight drifting across the bed. There was a soft glow of blue light near his bed from the IV pump and the large monitor; the only sound in the room was the soft beep from the heart monitor, echoing his heartbeat. Otherwise it was so quiet that he found himself unnerved by the stillness. Gazing around the room to verify he was alone, he saw that he wasn't. Isabella was standing in front of the window; her face, a pale reflection in the glass.

"Bella."

His voice was low, raspy, barely audible; yet, she reacted immediately. She spun around to look at him, starting to take a step toward him, then hesitating.

"John, I…uh…" She took a breath before she continued. "How do you feel?" Her melodic, rich voice held a note of melancholy.

"Groggy…confused…thirsty," as he realized how parched he was. He started to rise up, reaching for the water pitcher on the table next to his bed, when he felt a small hand rest lightly on his arm.

"Let me get you a glass of water," she smiled shyly, not looking at him. Even in the dim light, he could see her eyes were swollen, rimmed in red. Her hand was trembling, as she touched him. He watched as she held the pitcher with two hands to steady it.

"You should probably sit up to drink. Melanie said since you haven't been eating or drinking by mouth for awhile that it would be better for you to be sitting up." She slid her arms around him to help him sit upright. She then reached behind to arrange his pillows. Isabella lingered a moment before she pulled her arms away, and picked up the water glass.

She leaned against the bed, raising the glass to his mouth, her fingers still trembling. He covered her small hand completely with his, his long fingers intertwining with her slender ones. He drank slowly, then took the glass from her hand, sitting it on the bedside table.

The moonlight was dancing across her face; her hair sparkling, as if covered in moon dust. He gazed at her for a moment until his desire for her overcame his body's weakness. Lifting her off the floor, he pulled her into his arms. Isabella's hip slid across the edge of the tall bed, and she was lying across him, cradled in his arms. He held her tightly against his chest; her head nestled in the crook of his neck. Her warm breath caressed his skin as she softly whispered his name.

"Bella, look at me." His voice was raspy, low, full of desire for the beautiful woman lying in his arms. She raised her head, her lips mere inches from his.

"I don't know what is happening to me, but I want you to realize that I do love you. I knew I shouldn't fall in love with someone in a dream, but I did." John drew her close, his lips reaching for hers. She whispered his name as her lips touched his, and they fell into a deep kiss. He attempted to capture her mouth completely, but she pulled away.

"John, I don't know what to do, or how to help you. You must be so confused, but I promise I'll never leave you. I'll be here whether you remember me or not. As long as you love me, it doesn't matter." Smiling for the first time since she realized he was awake, she leaned down to continue the kiss. After a bit, she pulled away reluctantly.

"John, in the morning, Dr. Beckett is bringing in a psychiatrist to examine you. His name is Dr. Ross Warren, and he is world renown for his work with post traumatic stress disorders. Dr. Beckett thinks that your accident may have triggered your brain to create a different environment for you to escape into while you were in the coma. Dr. Warren is apparently quite good at helping patient's discern between reality and fantasy. Dr. Beckett feels that he will be able to help you sort this out."

John looked away, a look of disdain crossing his face. Isabella caressed his cheek, turning his face toward hers. "I know how you feel about the whole psychology thing, just promise me that you'll try. Please cooperate with Dr. Warren; let him help you."

He searched her face in the dim light, then smiled at her. "I'll try, but I won't promise anything."

Returning his smile, she settled next to him, pressing her soft curves against his lean, hard body. "Go to sleep, John; you need to rest so that you will recover soon."

As they lay together, drifting off to sleep, John Sheppard thought about the upcoming visit with Dr. Warren. He had purposely not told Isabella that he knew Dr. Warren as well. He was the new psychologist on Atlantis.


	2. Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John Sheppard wakes up after suffering a serious injury to find the memories he holds aren't real. Or are they? Now, he has to determine which reality is really his.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Word Count: Chapter 2: 4,115

REMEMBER ATLANTIS

By stella_pegasi

Chapter Two Memories

 

"Colonel, you're doing great! Come on, sir, just a few more steps and you'll be back in bed."

Colonel Sheppard was sweating; his body was shaking from the exertion of walking for the first time in five months. Or at least, that's what they told him. However, he wasn't convinced. He had recuperated far too many times not to know how his body reacted to injury. His muscles weren't reacting like those of someone who had been unconscious for a long time. He felt more like he was coming off a drug high. None of this was making sense to him.

He took the last few steps toward the bed, then leaned against the mattress. The physical therapists, who had been assisting him, were helping him back into bed, when General Landry walked into his room. He nodded to Sheppard, who acknowledged him, and the general waited until the therapists, and the nurse who had come in with him, helped the colonel settle. As everyone left, the general approached Sheppard.

Grasping the general's extended hand, Sheppard spoke, "Good to see you, sir; I'm glad you stopped by."

"I think 'good to see you' is my line, colonel. I wasn't expecting to have the opportunity to speak with you again. Your emergence from that coma was not what any of your doctors expected. Those docs should have listened to Isabella and Miss Gilly; those two beautiful ladies never gave up hope. You are a very lucky man, Sheppard."

John lay his head back against the pillows, "Yes; I suppose I am, sir." He resisted the intense desire burning within him to scream at Landry. He wanted Landry to tell him that Atlantis did exist. He refused to believe that this life he had awakened in was real. However, he had decided his best course of action was to appear calm, accepting of this life, feign confusion. He would not lose control, not now; not until he determined what was happening to him.

Landry drew a chair next to Sheppard's bed and sat down. "Where is the enchanting Isabella this morning? I had imagined it would require an Act of Congress to get her to leave once you were awake. It nearly took that much effort when you were in a coma to get her out of here."

"Isabella went…uh…home for a bit. She wanted to pick up a few things for me; I think. I don't know what." He smiled, slightly embarrassed. He could almost believe what he was saying to Landry was real, or maybe he simply wanted it to be.

"So, John, Dr. Beckett updated me regarding your…confusion. I think he believes that you are just confounded by a dream or something. He told me that a doctor specializing in combat stress is coming to see you this morning. Beckett and your other doctors are convinced he can help you." He paused a second, then spoke, "You have been missed at the Pentagon; we could use you back there. However, the important thing is for you to get well. Once you are recovered, we'll talk about your return to active duty."

"Sir, could you tell me what I do at the Pentagon?"

Landry looked at Sheppard, a perplexed look crossing his face, as if he wasn't certain how to answer. "You have been the head of a joint-military special ops unit at the Pentagon for two years. Prior to that, you were commander of Air Force Special Operations at Hurlburt Air Field in Florida for five years. Major Lorne is doing a fine job subbing for you, but he's still a bit green; some of the situations that pass across that desk can be quite difficult. You're good at your job, John. We need you back."

John turned away from the general, gazing out the window. His room was on the ground floor of the hospital, and overlooked a small lake and garden. Patients, family members, and hospital staff were walking along the paths or sitting on benches around the lake. As he watched the activity outside his room, he tried to assimilate what he had just heard. He looked back at the general.

"Sir, I remember being assigned to Hurlburt, but I was never a commander there. I served in the Mideast until I was placed under an Article 15 for disobeying orders, and…" Landry interrupted him.

"What are you talking about? Sheppard, you've never been under an Article 15."

"Yes, general, yes…I have. I went against orders, stole a helicopter, and took off to rescue three airmen behind enemy lines. I got busted for it, but was given the option of staying in the Air Force and being assigned McMurdo. I wanted to fly, if I did nothing else, so I took the option."

"John, you have to believe us, this 'life' you have created for yourself is not your life."

John grew silent, closing his eyes; silently wishing for someone to tell him the truth. He felt in his heart that this life was not real; Atlantis was real. His mind, however, remained confused; physically, this life felt tangible. He could feel, taste, and smell it; yet, it couldn't be real.

"John, are you alright?" The general asked, his concern evident in his voice.

As he was about to answer the general, Isabella and Dr. Beckett entered, accompanied by a tall, sandy-haired man. The man was wearing a bow tie and well-worn tweed jacket. They greeted General Landry, as Isabella sat a small suitcase down next to the closet. She quickly crossed the room to his bedside, bending over to kiss him. As her lips brushed his, he slid his left hand into her hair and pulled her deeper into the kiss. When she pulled away and smiled at him, he wondered if maybe he should give in to this version of his life.

"I missed you. How was your walk?" She encircled his right hand with her small hands, her fingers gently caressing his palm.

"OK, I walked the entire length of the hallway and back again. I confess I got a bit tired, but I made it." He tightened his grip on her soft, small hands. He clung to the only thing that was real to him in both realities, Isabella.

Dr. Beckett and the other man had been conversing quietly with General Landry. John suspected they were giving him a moment of privacy with Isabella. Finally, Dr. Beckett turned and approached the bed. "John, you look a bit more rested today. How are you feeling?

"Better…stronger, I ate almost all of my breakfast like a good little colonel. However, what I would really like to do is to take a shower. When can I get out of here?"

"Arranging for a shower shouldn't be a problem; I'll write orders in your chart for regular showers. As for getting out of here; better hold on to that thought, colonel. I doubt you'll be leaving the hospital for a wee bit."

General Landry, walked to the foot of the bed, "Colonel, I'll stop by to see you tomorrow. You're in good hands here; I feel confident you'll be back to work with us very soon. Isabella, doctors, I'll take my leave."

Isabella spoke, "I'll walk you out, general." With a wink to John, she hooked her arm in the general's, escorting him out of the room.

"How are you really doing, colonel? I doubt you have been completely open with Isabella."

"Not so good," he was somewhat distracted by the man who had arrived with Beckett. The man had hovered near the doorway, staring at him, since he and Beckett came in the room. He asked the tall man directly, "Who are you?"

Beckett seemed flustered, "John, so sorry; what happened to my manners? This is Dr. Ross Warren; he's the psychologist we talked about last night. I really think he can help you."

The psychologist approached the bed, extending his hand. Sheppard shook hands, then asked, "What makes you think you can help me?"

Dr. Warren spoke; his voice was very soft but strong, "Colonel, I think I know why you have retreated into this dream you have created for yourself. I will help you remember what the trigger that led to your confusion was. We're going to begin actually, now." He pulled up a stool and sat down.

"Dr. Beckett, tell Mrs. Sheppard, she can come in for a few minutes, but no one else. The colonel and I have a great deal to talk about." Dr. Warren turned away from Beckett, who seemed a bit put out by the dismissal. John noticed Beckett's unease, but the doctor left with a nod to him.

John leaned back in the bed, sighing deeply. "I imagine you are aware, of how much I hate being subjected to psychologists."

Warren chuckled, "Yes; I have read your file, colonel. I am well aware that those in my profession are not among your favorite people. You are very resistant when there is a need for you to speak to one of us."

A scowl crept onto John's face. As he answered Warren, he chose not to look at the psychologist. "No offense, doctor, it's just that I have never been fond of anyone attempting to mess with my head."

"Colonel, the fact is, something's been messing with your head. I am here to find out what that is. Be patient with me; I have lots of questions, but…ah…Mrs. Sheppard, come in."

"I'll just get my things, so that the two of you can talk." She came to opposite side of bed. "John, I am going to pick up Miss Gilly and take her shopping. She needs a few things for her trip to New York in a few days. When we're done we will come back here, and wait until you are finished with Dr. Warren. Miss Gilly, and I will be joining you for dinner tonight. Dr. Beckett was kind enough to arrange it. By the way, Dave said he would be by sometime this evening. I think he's planning on spending the day with you tomorrow."

She paused, and John realized that he wasn't really paying attention to much of what Isabella said. He was mesmerized by her; finding it difficult to concentrate when she was with him. He replied, "Good, I look forward to seeing Miss Gilly."

She leaned over, kissing him on the cheek. "I'll see you later." John watched her as she left, and Warren watched him.

"Beautiful woman, colonel; you are a very lucky man."

John didn't say anything immediately; he continued to look out the doorway. After a few more seconds passed, Warren got up and closed the door.

"I understand, colonel, that you do not remember being married to Isabella, is that correct?"

John shook his head yes, but still didn't respond. Warren tried again, "But you know her?"

"Sort of, not really, look…I have a feeling you already know the answer to this."

"Sort of…." He mimicked John, who was becoming uncomfortable. "John, if you don't mind my calling you that; how do you know Isabella?"

"I've told Beckett this already."

"I know, but you need to tell me, John, how you know Isabella. I would prefer to hear the details from you."

John's hands grasped the satin edge of the coverlet lying across his bed. His fingers rubbing along the open weave texture of the blanket, as he gazed out the window at the small lake. He began to tell Warren about Isabella.

It began when he had been searching for a Marine, who had been kidnapped by slavers, the first year they were on Atlantis. Five years later, Sergeant Leonard 'Lee' Strayer had been spotted by one of his teams, off world. When he caught up with Strayer, the sergeant captured and tortured his team. He had endured the worst of the torture. To help him survive an ascended Ancient woman, Teer, created a dream world for him. A dream to keep his mind active and unaware of the torture he was undergoing, while she battled to keep him alive. Teer had placed Isabella in his dream, and later, after he was rescued, Teer told him that Isabella was real, she existed, and he was destined to meet her.

Warren interrupted him, "This Ancient woman told you that you were destined to meet Isabella?" Sheppard nodded, and Warren continued, "So, don't you think you dreamed that because you already knew Isabella, John. She was already your wife."

"No, I don't; I don't think that at all. That memory is real, this isn't."

"How can you be so certain that this reality is not real, John, and that Atlantis is real?"

"You could call it a gut reaction, but none of this life seems real to me at all, Warren. The only thing that feels real to me is Atlantis."

"And Isabella…does she feel real to you?" Warren asked. Sheppard stared at him, but reluctantly nodded, yes.

"John, why don't you start at the beginning? Tell me when you first heard of Atlantis, don't leave out any details."

John pressed the call button for his nurse, causing concern to cross Warren's face. "Are you OK, John?"

"Yeah, just need coffee."

Three hours later, Warren left so that John could have lunch, and get some rest. The psychologist was returning at 1500 hours to continue their talk; or better described, John thought, as his monologue with a few questions thrown in by the shrink. No sooner did Warren leave than Isabella entered the room.

She hopped up on the edge of the bed, and lay across his chest. He wrapped his arms tightly around her, and she nuzzled her face into his neck.

After a few moments, she murmured, "You, OK? You certainly feel OK…um."

"I'm fine, just tired. Warren kept at me the entire time to tell him every detail about my memories of Atlantis." He felt her body tense as he spoke of Atlantis.

"I know you are tired; that's why Miss Gilly decided not to come until this evening. She thought you needed to be with Dr. Warren. I understand they are going to bring you lunch, then you get a shower, and then you need to take a nap."

He flashed a little half-grin at her, "You going to help me with my shower?"

Isabella raised her head, looking into his olive green eyes. "Don't tease me. I am embarrassed enough at how much I want to help you take a shower." Her dark green eyes were nearly black; her widened pupils revealing her need for him.

John chuckled; her cheeks were turning a rosy pink. He pulled her even closer; her soft, curvaceous body pressed along his. He knew she wasn't real, the dream Teer gave him felt this way as well. But now, like then, he relished every moment he was with her.

They remained in the same position until the nurse's aide brought lunch. After he finished his meal, two aides came to assist him with his shower. As he headed for the bathroom, he leaned down, whispering to Isabella, "Next time, Bella." Smiling, he walked away with the help of a large male aide.

~ooOOOoo~

"You knew Dr. Beckett and General Landry on Atlantis correct?"

Dr. Warren had returned at the appointed time, continuing to probe about John's first few months on Atlantis.

Yes, Carson…uh…Dr. Beckett is the original medical director on the expedition team. General Landry is currently commander of Stargate Command."

"You told me about your initial meeting with Dr. Beckett. Tell me how your friendship developed."

"First, doctor, can you answer a question for me? Dr. Rodney McKay is the chief scientist on Atlantis. Do I know him here?" For some reason, John felt he needed to find Dr. McKay in this reality. He knew he needed to find his Rodney McKay.

"Hum, colonel, let me see." Warren pulled a paper from his leather portfolio, scanning its contents. "Yes, you work with a Dr. Rodney McKay; he is a civilian weapons expert working for the Pentagon. Why do you ask?" Warren was looking at him with a concerned expression.

John decided not to tell Warren that McKay's face kept pushing into his thoughts. Rodney McKay was his friend, and he trusted him. He had to find a way to contact him; the real him. "No reason, I was just thinking about the people I know on Atlantis, and I realized no one had mentioned McKay. Just curious, I guess." He wasn't certain that Warren bought his explanation, but the psychologist seemed to pass over his question without much thought.

"Well, you were going to tell me about your friendship with Dr. Beckett." Warren waited for him to talk.

They continued for nearly two hours before Dr. Beckett intervened. Dr. Warren left, indicating he would return the next day. Beckett spent a few minutes looking over his chart, then pulled the stool next to John's bed.

"Now, I know, although I'm your primary doctor, I still shouldn't ask, but I will. How did your session go with Warren?"

John hesitated before he spoke. He looked at the so-familiar face in front of him, wondering what the hell was happening to him. Taking a deep breath, he answered, "Long day." Rubbing his eyes, he realized that he was getting a bit of a headache.

His action didn't go unnoticed, and Beckett looked at him with concern. "Head hurt, colonel?" John nodded; Beckett picked up the call-control and requested pain meds for him. "Melanie will bring something for you in a few minutes. When did this start?"

"About the time Warren walked in." John said, but then smiled at Beckett. "No, not then; headache started a bit ago. It must have been from reliving all the memories of Atlantis."

"Well, lad; this is a tough time for you. After talking to Dr. Warren, do you feel any different?"

John laid his head back on the pillows, "No, no different at all." He glanced at Beckett, who had a very disturbed look on his face. John decided he needed to appear as though he wanted to overcome his confusion. "I promise I'm trying, for myself and for Isabella." Beckett brightened as he spoke.

Melanie walked in with a small paper cup holding two white pills, "Pain meds to the rescue, colonel." She poured him a glass of water, and waited while he downed the pills. "Mrs. Sheppard called; she didn't want to disturb you while you were with Dr. Warren. She will be returning with Miss Gilly in about an hour. I believe your dinner will be brought in around 7:00 p.m. So, you have time for a nap."

"John, I think Melanie knows more about what you need than your doctor does. A nap sounds like good medicine." He stood up, "I am going to restrict the amount of time Warren spends with you tomorrow. I am concerned that we may have pushed you too much today."

"Thanks, I could use a little break. I've been watching the patients and their families sitting out by the lake; it looks nice. I'd really like to get some fresh air; could I go outside tomorrow, doc?"

"You get a good night's sleep, and we'll talk about it. Between you and me, I don't think it will be a problem. Now, is your head getting better?"

John nodded; Beckett patted him on the leg, then followed Melanie out of the room.

John didn't expect to fall asleep; he had taken a nap after his shower, but fall asleep, he did. He woke up slowly to the quiet whispers of the two voices he loved, Isabella and Miss Gilly.

"Hey, you two, keep it down, trying to sleep here." He felt his skin flush when he realized how quickly they both turned toward him. Isabella was at his beside before he could say another word. Miss Gilly didn't move as fast, but it didn't take her long to reach him. She spoke to him in her beautiful Jamaican patois accent.

"My handsome boy, you have no idea how happy I have been since you awoke. It's like life finally can move on." He held out his arms, and this woman to whom he owed everything, leaned in for his embrace. As Isabella's hand gently caressed his right shoulder, he allowed himself to relish the moment. He could almost believe it was real.

He reluctantly allowed Miss Gilly to draw away, but Isabella filled his arms. He pulled her close, burying his nose in her soft, fragrant hair. She whispered how much she loved him, and he felt as if his heart would break in two. He was about to kiss her, but was interrupted as dinner was wheeled into the room.

Melanie was still on duty, and she followed the dinner cart into the room. She came to assist John out of bed and to the dining table. Once he was on his feet, she commented, "Nice pajamas, colonel." He found himself blushing, and he didn't understand why. In reply, he mumbled that Isabella had brought them for him to put on after his shower.

Housekeeping brought a round table and three comfortable looking dining chairs into the room. Melanie stayed close to John as he made his own way to a chair, making certain he was stable. When she was satisfied that John was comfortable, she left, closing the door behind her.

One of the aides covered the table with a white tablecloth, then three covered dishes and a napkin covered basket were placed on the table. The aroma escaping the dishes was making John extremely hungry, "Miss Gilly this smells very familiar. Is it what I think it is?" She smiled, and he smiled even broader. "Oh, man, I have craved this dish." He lifted the stainless dome over his plate to find Miss Gilly's 'Jamaica Delight.' The plate was filled with the rice, peas, and chicken dish Miss Gilly made for Dave and him when they lived at home. He told Isabella, "Dave and I didn't like heavy Jamaican spices when we were little. So she concocted this, which had less spicy taste to it. We loved it." The two women laughed at John's obvious happiness. Missy Gilly passed her homemade bread around, and they began to eat.

After they had finished, housekeeping cleared the table and all remnants of dinner away. John didn't want to get back in bed, so he sat in one of the winged arm chairs next to the window. He was feeling quite good, and was allowing himself only a few seconds of doubt, as he sat talking about his mother and Miss Gilly.

Miss Gilly and her daughter, Madeline, had met the Sheppard family when they vacationed in Jamaica. Miss Gilly was the cook and housekeeper at the villa the Sheppard's rented for a month. John was the same age as Maddie and the two had become friends from the time they met. His mother, Gisella, and Gilly had become best of friends during the month. Gilly's husband, a Kingston city clerk, had been killed a year before. He was shot during a riot against the government, targeted because he was a government worker. They were alone and his mother had begged his father to arrange for Gilly and Maddie to come to the US. Since Patrick Sheppard had never been able to refuse the beautiful Gisella anything, he did as she asked. Gilly and Maddie moved into the big house in Maryland with the Sheppard family. Miss Gilly had become their main cook only because she insisted on earning her keep. John was very thankful she had been there when his mother died. He didn't think he would have survived without her.

As he sat between the two women, reminiscing about his younger years, he found himself becoming even more confused. What if this was real, what if he really was brass at the Pentagon, married to the beautiful Isabella, living in the DC area, and not really the military commander of the Atlantis Expedition. He felt his head reeling from the possibility that he could be wrong. At least, for a brief moment, he thought he might be wrong, until the door opened. Then he knew he was right, that this world was wrong. He knew that when Dave walked in the room smiling, their father walking in behind him.

John knew, without a doubt, at that moment, that this world was not real. Patrick Sheppard was dead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On to Chapter 3 where the mystery begins to unravel...
> 
> Thanks for taking time to read this story. I would love to hear what you think so far!


	3. Shattered

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Colonel John Sheppard wakes up after suffering a serious injury to find the memories he holds aren't real. Or are they? Now, he has to determine which reality is really his.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Word Count: Chapter 3: 4,682
> 
> CHAPTER 3 begins to shed light on what is happening to Colonel Sheppard.

REMEMBER ATLANTIS

By stella_pegasi

Chapter Three Shattered

"Dave, what the hell is going on?" John rose quickly from the arm chair, striding toward his brother; his eyes blazing with anger. He stopped inches short of Dave's face, "Tell me, what the hell is going on here? I am tired of this, someone better tell me what's happening right now!"

Isabella grabbed his arm, "John, please, calm down. What is upsetting you?"

Glancing at her, he was distressed by the pain in her eyes, but he gently tugged his arm from her grasp. He pivoted to face Dave again. "You know what's wrong, don't you? I knew you were being way too nice to me last night. You had to have an ulterior motive." He pointed to what he considered the image of his father, "He's dead, and you know it."

Dave took a step closer to John, "I don't know what you are talking about. John, who is dea…"

"Damn it, stop. You know who's dead. He is…he is…" John turned and pointed to Patrick Sheppard. "He died two years ago. I was there for the wake."

Patrick approached his younger son, "John. I'm not dead. You're simply confused. That's all." Placing his hands on John's shoulders, he gripped him tightly. "Feel that, son; that's me, I'm real. I'm sorry that I wasn't in town when you awoke. Dave let me know as soon as Dr. Beckett called him. I flew back from Paris as quickly as I could. John, I'm your father, and I am here for you; let me help you."

John stood immobilized, as he looked into the ice blue eyes of his father. He wanted to believe that his father loved him, was there for him, but he knew better. All the years of pain he had suffered from his father's inattention came flooding back to him. That pain was real. That much he knew. In the background, he heard Miss Gilly softly calling his name; he turned to her.

"John, my boy, your daddy is alive. You must realize that. He loves you, let him help you." Her beautiful voice, was hoarse, pleading with him.

"Miss Gilly, I love you, but I know you are lying to me. All of you are lying to me. This is not real and you are not real." He turned to Isabella, "I do love you, and I want so badly for you to be real, but you are not." Tears were falling from Isabella's dark green eyes, and he felt his own eyes brimming with tears. "None of this is real."

He turned toward the door, with the intention of leaving. He had to get out of the room, out of the hospital. However, he hadn't noticed Dave slip from the room while his father was speaking to him. As he ripped the door open to leave, he found two orderlies about to enter the room, Melanie and Dave right behind them. The two big men rushed John. He fought back but he was weak, and with little trouble, they wrestled him back into bed. While they held him down, Melanie gave him a shot. He was yelling at her to let him go, but soon his vision blurred. As he was lapsing into unconsciousness, the last word to pass John's lips before he was out completely was "Rodney."

~ooOOOoo~

"Who's fucking foolish idea was it to introduce the memory of his father? Didn't you idiots do some kind of research on Sheppard? Didn't somebody realize that his father's appearance would push his buttons? I want to know who the fuck is responsible for this." Edward Banks was pacing the aisle between the banks of computers in the control room and the glass-windowed wall.

On the other side of the large window was a smaller room that held a large Ancient device, another bank of computers, and a bed, which was pushed up against the window. Colonel John Sheppard was lying on the bed, naked; electrodes and sensors applied to his skin from head to toe. Wires trailed from his body and connected to the various machines. A thin sheet had been carelessly tossed over him.

"Calm down, Edward; you were well aware this was going to be difficult. Sheppard is strong and he's quite intelligent; you've read the mission reports that were hacked from the SGC. This guy is fearless, and will go to any measures to protect Atlantis. This is simply a step back; we'll get him under control again." Matt Tichtor wasn't in the mood for another of Edward's rifts.

"Really, Matt, really; you and Cowboy Brody in there are going to fix this," he shook his head. "If we can't keep his mind occupied while we probe for the information we need to take control of Atlantis, this will be for naught. He'll fight us, and we will have nothing. I have no desire to go back to the Trust, and announce our failure. We might as well mix the pitcher of Kool-Aid and commit mass suicide now."

"We haven't failed; we just suffered a setback. Myles will get him back under control using the woman. We haven't a clue as to who this woman is, or how Sheppard managed to interject her into the VR. Sheppard is clearly enamored with her, and she's been useful. She's the lure that's keeping Sheppard from questioning the virtual reality too closely. Myles's been manipulating his memory of her to bring her in when he's getting agitated. It's fascinating to watch…Myles was able to figure out how to tweak the Ancient device to produce a visual display. We're seeing it all through Sheppard's eyes. Damn, that woman is a looker. Wish we had audio, but Myles thinks the crystals are broken. He can't get it to work."

"I saw the tapes when she first appeared. Looker is an understatement; any luck on finding out more about her?"

"My contact at the SGC hasn't gotten back to me, but as far as we can tell, she's never been mentioned in any of the mission reports, or in the background reports about Sheppard. It appears the colonel has a sexy, little secret. I wish Myles could get the audio component of that piece of Ancient tech working. We might find out more about that delectable woman. Myles planted a memory to make him think that he is married, so he thinks he's married to her."

"Hell, I'd like to be married to her." Matt laughed at Edward, and the two men left the room, heading to the main area of the compound.

~ooOOOoo~

"What the hell do you mean Sheppard's missing? Damn it, general, what the hell happened to him?"

"Dr. McKay, calm down, let the general talk." Richard Woolsey was just as agitated as McKay was at the moment. He was thankful that he was better at remaining in control. Besides, he hadn't just been told that his best friend had disappeared off the face of the Earth, literally.

"I am not calming down. Sheppard's been missing from Earth for eight days, and they're just now telling us. You bet I'm fucking pissed, and I want answers." Rodney was not in a calming down mood. Teyla, who was sitting next to the scientist at the large conference table, placed her hand on Rodney's shoulder, trying to sooth him.

General Landry was rubbing his forehead, exasperated that he couldn't answer McKay's questions. Colonel Cameron Mitchell decided to try and explain what had been going on since they discovered Sheppard was missing.

"McKay, when John left here on Tuesday, he was headed to Breckenridge Ski Resort for a few days of skiing. We wrapped up the meeting with the IOA and Homeworld Security early. Since it would be ten days before the engine overhaul was finished and the Daedalus left for Atlantis, John decided he'd take leave. A former buddy of his from McMurdo retired from the Air Force, and is a ski instructor at Breckenridge now. He decided to go see his friend, and get some skiing in. He asked me to go along, but I had two missions scheduled that I couldn't reassign."

Woolsey commented, "You didn't suspect he was missing then?"

Landry answered, "No. We didn't suspect anything until the car he borrowed from the motor pool, was found abandoned two days ago. The car was hidden off the roadway with all his gear still inside. A group of hikers found the car camouflaged by broken tree limbs and brush, just off a little used hiking trail and called the State Patrol."

Major Lorne was sitting next to a visibly agitated Ronon. "Colonel Mitchell, what has been done to locate Colonel Sheppard?"

"From the beginning, NID has been involved. Malcolm Barrett, who is now the Senior Special Agent for the NID, flew here this morning from DC to run the investigation himself. At this point, we have very few leads. Forensics turned up nothing on the car except the fingerprints of Sheppard and the motor pool personnel. With the heavy snow fall of the last few days, the forensics' team couldn't find any tracks leading to or from the car."

"Mitchell, when did you decide he was no longer on Earth?" Ronon asked, although it sounded more like a threat than a question.

"When the repairs to the Daedalus power plant were completed this morning, Major Marks powered up the sensors. He performed a planet-wide sweep for Sheppard's transponder. There was no signal transmission; Sheppard is either off-world or…" Mitchell didn't finish.

"No, he is not dead," Teyla uttered quietly. "I do not know why I know, but I am certain. John is alive."

General Landry interjected, "We are going on that assumption, Ms. Emmagan. That the colonel is alive, and we intend on finding him. Agent Barrett and his team are searching, as are we. Right now, I have a tech team going over everything that has happened on, and around Earth, for the last week."

Mitchell continued, "We have sent teams out all over the galaxy, trying to see if we can gather intel on who might be responsible for taking Sheppard off-world. I promise, guys; we'll find him."

McKay spoke up, "General Landry, we should be there; we should be helping search for Sheppard."

"Dr. McKay, I am well aware of how close all of you are to Sheppard, but at this moment, there is very little to go on. The best thing is to allow us to do our job and gather as much information as we can. Meanwhile, think about anything that Sheppard might have said that could help us. I despise making promises. However, I will echo Mitchell; we'll find out what has happened to Colonel Sheppard. Woolsey, we'll update in two hours, even if we don't have anything new to report; Landry out." Through the closed doors of the conference room, they heard the Atlantis gate disengage. The Atlantians were left staring at a blank vidscreen that had held the images of Landry and Mitchell.

"Woolsey, we need to be there." Rodney pleaded, his strained voice indicating his frustration was reaching a critical level.

Ronon added in a deep throaty growl, his eyes full of anger, 'I agree.'

Woolsey looked at them for a moment before speaking, "I know you are all disconcerted by this news, as I am. However, you also know as well as I do that there is nothing we can do to help at this point. The SGC will do everything they can to find John. I think Landry was correct. You should all try to think of anything that has happened, or anything John might have said that could help determine what might have happened to him." He got up to leave, but turned back to Sheppard's three teammates and Lorne. "I would ask that we keep this quiet, but the walls have ears around here. I imagine that the base already knows. Try to keep a lid on this as much as possible. At least, try to keep the rumors down. This base has suffered major losses before; but if Colonel Sheppard were to be lost, well…"

Teyla was staring at her hands; she didn't look up as she spoke, interrupting Woolsey. "Colonel Sheppard is alive; we will find him."

Woolsey started to reply, then thought better. Regardless of whatever he could say, John Sheppard's teammates and friends are going to believe Sheppard is alive. As did he.

~ooOOOoo~

His head was pounding. He opened his eyes slowly, remembering where he was. He tried to get up, but a voice near the bed cried out 'no.' He looked in the direction of the voice, finding Dave standing at his bedside.

"Go away."

"John, please; we need to…" Dave's voice was strained, trembling.

"I said, go away."

"John, Dave just wants to talk to you. Please let him." He listened to Isabella's voice, quiet, soothing, but he could also hear the pleading that was trickling into her voice. He needed to stay strong, and not allow her to influence him. Ignoring her, however, was extremely difficult for him to do.

Dave had walked away from the bed, and John felt Isabella's presence move away from him. As he lay in the darkened room listening to their quiet whispers, he wondered how he had managed to fall in love with her. Dreams were all that he had of her. Yet, he wasn't certain he could deny her anything.

The whispering stopped and the hall door opened, bright light spilling into the room, then closed gently. Within seconds, he felt Isabella's small hands on his arm. Her fingers, normally warm, felt icy, and he shivered.

"Are you cold, John. I can get you another blanket." As her hand pulled away, he grabbed her wrist.

"No, I'm fine." He paused, just to look at her, then quietly continued, "Bella, we need to talk."

"John, you are frightening me. What is happening to you?" She was crying, and he wanted to pull her close, tell her everything would be fine. But he couldn't; he had to discover what was happening to him.

A fleeting thought that the Ancients were messing with him crossed his mind. Yet, he couldn't understand why they would put him through this. They had more direct ways of reaching him. Then he wondered if he was being tortured, and Teer was protecting him again. He called for her with his mind, but there was no reply, only darkness. He had to figure this out, and he had to find Rodney. If he was in trouble, he knew his team was searching for him. He had a sinking feeling that his team needed to find him, fast.

"Bella, you believe this life to be real; I don't. I know it isn't; someone or something is messing with my head, and I have to figure this out. You have to understand, you and I have never met in person; you have only appeared in my dreams. That doesn't mean I don't love you; I do. Although, I know it is foolish to fall in love with someone you've never met; I did. I am hanging on to Teer's word that we will meet, that we are destined to meet…someday."

"John…no…" she sobbed, as gripped his hand, tears streaming down her face. "Please, you can't think this way…"

"Yeah, I can…I have to. I don't want to believe you're not real, but I know you aren't. Everything I'm experiencing, it's not real." He didn't know what else to say to her. The one thing he did want to do, at least once more, was to feel her lips against his, feel her mouth yield to his as he gently probed her softness. He was pulling her close to him when the door opened abruptly.

The glaring light from the hallway flooded the room. Adjusting to the brightness, John saw that Dave and his father, and Miss Gilly, as well as, Beckett, Warren, Melanie and the orderlies had entered the room.

"Well, looks like a party. Who brought the popcorn and the movie?" John quipped.

Beckett approached him, "Laddie. I think you have had too much excitement for one day. You aren't thinking rationally. I am going to give you something to help you sleep. We will discuss all of this in the morning." Melanie handed him a syringe and alcohol pad as he clasped John's forearm.

John jerked his arm away and rolled off the bed, nearly knocking Isabella over. He instinctively grabbed her, keeping her upright, and then realized that there were too many people between where he was standing and the doorway. Glancing over his shoulder, he realized his only escape was through the window. He turned, running toward the window as fast as he could in order to gain enough momentum to crash through. He slammed into the window, and as he felt the glass begin to shatter, excruciating pain coursed through his head. John heard a scream... his scream, and blackness enveloped him.

~ooOOOoo~

"General, we weren't expecting to hear from you so soon after your last update. Do you…?" Woolsey stopped as McKay interrupted.

"It's been nearly twelve hours, since we learned John was missing. Tell me you've found something." McKay had been pacing as the connection was established, he stopped inches from the vidscreen in the control room.

Ronon walked up behind him, "McKay, give the man time to talk." Gently, the big Satedan, pulled McKay to a chair that Dr. Zelenka pushed toward him. "Sit."  


McKay glowered at Ronon, but sat down.

Woolsey and the general were exhibiting a great deal of patience, as they knew that Sheppard's team was like a coiled and deadly spring, waiting to lunge at whoever kidnapped Sheppard. Once McKay was seated, Ronon standing behind him, the general answered McKay's question.

"We do have something, Dr. McKay. SG-19 is on MP3-944; it's a planet controlled by the Lucian Alliance. They are undercover as mercenaries and reported a short time ago that there was a rumor circulating that the Alliance had kidnapped a powerful Tau'ri. That's all that they could find out, but Jameson has an informant deep in the Alliance on that planet. He's arranged to meet with his informant tonight to see what he knows."

Woolsey asked, "How difficult will it be for Jameson to get another message to you?"

"Shouldn't be too difficult; this planet is quite active, both in legitimate trade and as a haven for mercenaries. A lot of trade transactions take place there, and it's also an outpost for the Alliance. The stargate is used extensively; Jameson travels back and forth to MX4-822, his cover home world all the time. We maintain an outpost on 822 to keep an eye on Jameson and a couple of other covert teams. Once on 822, he can dial the SGC without worry."

"A powerful Tau'ri; general, any idea what the Lucian Alliance would want the colonel for?" Woolsey asked.

"Colonel Sheppard is a high-ranking officer in the SGC and privy to considerable classified information. That's in addition to being the commander of the Atlantis military contingent. With the strength of his Ancient gene, who knows if the Alliance wants him for that reason. It's obvious that there are a lot of reasons he would be an attractive target for the Alliance. I've put the General Hammond on alert; Colonel Carter knows the Lucian Alliance as well as anyone. If we find that the Alliance had kidnapped Sheppard, her intel will be valuable, as will the assets of the Hammond."

Teyla smiled, "We are pleased to know that Colonel Carter will be helping to look for the colonel. He has tremendous respect for her and her abilities."

General Landry smiled, "She is as concerned as we are, as are Colonel's Caldwell and Ellis. They have all been informed of the situation. The Apollo is currently a few days out from Earth. Caldwell is remaining in the neighborhood ready to act on good Intel, and Carter is not that far from Alliance territory. Once we have something definitive, we have some pretty serious assets to utilize in the search for Colonel Sheppard."

Landry was about to sign off, but he saw the look of exasperation on McKay's face. "Richard, Dr. McKay, as soon as we know something, I think it would be a good idea for Colonel Sheppard's team and perhaps some of your SO's to come to the SGC. We have a lot of teams out, but other than the undercover teams, many are known to the Alliance. Mitchell mentioned this earlier to me, the SG teams are too compromised, and so new faces would advantageous. Think about how you want to proceed; we'll talk timing when I get back to you. "

Woolsey and McKay answered thanks simultaneously. Then McKay added, "General, sorry, we just….; we're worried and frustrated that we can't do anything."

Landry offered a slight grin, "Don't worry, doctor. I have no intention of losing Colonel Sheppard, especially now that I got him promoted. I've never lost a full-bird colonel under my watch, and I don't intend on doing it now. We'll be in contact; Landry out."

~ooOOOoo~

Woolsey brought Major Lorne up to date, asking him to put an away team together. A mission plan was out of the question until they had a mission to conduct. At least, Lorne could get his personnel together. He arranged for Sheppard's team, Dr.'s Keller and Beckett, and Major's Lorne and Teldy to meet at 1900 hours. He sent Ronon and Teyla to work with Lorne and told Zelenka to keep McKay busy; with what, he didn't care. Zelenka had smiled strangely at that point, as if he had a secret. Woolsey could have sworn a light bulb went on over the little Czech scientist head, as he scurried off to catch up with McKay.

Chuck and Amelia had decided that none of Sheppard's team had likely eaten during the last several hours. They arranged for sandwiches and all the trimmings be brought to the conference room. As McKay walked in, Ronon, who had already arrived and was eating, was surprised to see McKay give a cursory glance at the food and then sit down. He knew McKay had to be really upset to ignore food.

"Hey, McKay, you miss the food over there?" Ronon bobbed his head toward the food.

"What…what?" McKay was obviously not paying attention, "I…oh, no…not hungry."

Teyla had just entered, followed by Major Lorne, who made a beeline for the food. Teyla had overheard Ronon asked Rodney about the food. She smiled at Ronon, knowing he was worried about McKay; as was she. She walked over to where Rodney was sitting.

"Rodney, you must eat; you know you will become ill if you do not. You cannot help Colonel Sheppard if you are ill. Let us get you a plate." She pulled on his arm, and he got up, following her to the counter where the food had been placed.

Lorne handed him a tray, and Rodney started to fill it up. He looked at Teyla, "You know; I didn't realize I was even hungry or lightheaded. I think I'm both; I can't imagine I would forget to eat."

"Worry will do that, Rodney. Be sure to take a couple of cookies."

Rodney nodded, grabbed three cookies and sat down, just as Woolsey, Major Teldy, and Dr. Zelenka walked in. Beckett and Keller arrived soon after, Jennifer noting that Rodney was eating with a slight smile and a nod to Teyla. She was aware Rodney had not been eating, but she also knew that his team would look out for him. As soon as they filled their trays, Woolsey began the meeting.

"So, Major Lorne, what have you decided?"

As you know, I was assigned to the SGC before I came to Atlantis, as was Major Teldy, Captain Isaacs, Captain Stackhouse, and Sergeant Mehra. We all have SO training and have off-world experience in the Milky Way Galaxy. In addition there are a few others, like Lieutenants James and Salem and Corporals Brenner and Rodriquez, who have been exemplary in their off-world missions. I have a feeling from what General Landry said that we are going to need some really experienced people to go with us. The Lucian Alliance operatives are smart, resourceful, and quite cunning. I need to know that I have smart people who can think on their feet and handle just about any situation."

"Major, I fully understand that, but how does this plan impact the security for Atlantis. It sounds to me if you are taking our best people from the city."

"I realize, sir that it takes a major event for Colonel Sheppard, Major Teldy and I to be out of the city at the same time. However, I consider this a major event, as I am certain you do." Lorne was staring at Woolsey, daring him to disagree.

"Of course, this is a 'major event', major. I am just curious as to what plan you have come up with to protect Atlantis while you are all gone."

Teyla and Ronon exchanged glances; both knew that Major Lorne just won round one in the discussion with Woolsey.

"Sir, Captain Waters is more than capable of assuming command while we are rescuing Colonel Sheppard. He is Air Force with SO training, and he spent two years on an SG team in addition to the five years here on Atlantis. He's quite familiar with the SGC protocols. Waters is a fifteen year career officer, who has been awarded numerous accommodations and medals, including for serving in a ground covert operation. In fact, Colonel Sheppard took his file with him to the SGC to recommend his promotion to the rank of major. With the new budget and an increase in the military contingent, the colonel felt we needed an additional major." Major Lorne finally took a breath.

Woolsey stifled a smile. The situation was too serious for laughing, but if Major Loren only realized how much he sounded like Sheppard when Sheppard wanted something. Sheppard as a role model, he thought; Lorne could do worse. He addressed the major, "Lorne; I trust your judgment, no need for a recitation of the captain's curriculum vitae. I already knew about the possibility of promotion for him, Sheppard and I discuss…" Woolsey creased talking. The gate was activating.

A few seconds later, their COMS beeped, and Amelia's voice floated through their ear pieces. "Mr. Woolsey, I have General Landry and Colonel Mitchell."

"Patch them through, Amelia."

All eyes in the room turned to the vidscreen as the conference room at the SGC appeared, Landry and Mitchell looking very serious. Landry wasted no time getting to the point.

"We have confirmed that Colonel Sheppard was kidnapped and taken off-world, but not by the Lucian Alliance, although they have their hand in Sheppard's kidnapping. No, I am sorry to say this, but the Trust is behind this."

Woolsey sat up, "The Trust, general? I thought we had eliminated that threat."

Landry rubbed his forehead before he continued, "Well, uh…apparently not."

Mitchell interjected, "Jameson confirmed that Sheppard had been kidnapped and is being held in an Alliance compound. He doesn't have a planet location, as of yet. However, as we were talking to him, Agent Barrett called." Mitchell looked at Landry, who nodded for him to continue.

"Barrett flew to Leavenworth to put pressure on Robert Baker. Baker's the former Air Force lieutenant, who smuggled artifacts from Atlantis on the Daedalus for the Trust. Baker told Barrett about rumors he heard while he was working for the Trust. A stranger showed at their hideout, and he overheard one of the lower level trust guys say that the man was a member of the Lucian Alliance. Baker said that rumors began to circulate that the Trust and the Lucian Alliance entered into a partnership with one purpose in mind." Mitchell paused, "They want Atlantis."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I appreciate your feedback.


	4. Revealed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Colonel John Sheppard wakes up after suffering a serious injury to find the memories he holds aren't real. Or are they? Now, he has to determine which reality is really his.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Word Count: Chapter 4: 3,963   
> Spoilers: No blatant spoilers…some mention of events related to Stargate overall.  
> Warnings: Language

REMEMBER ATLANTIS

By stella_pegasi

 

Chapter Four Revealed

 

"Take Atlantis, sir? Do you have any idea how they plan on doing that?" Lorne asked in a clipped, military tone. He was no longer sitting comfortably. He and Teldy, sat up, ramrod straight, when they heard a threat spoken against Atlantis, even if it was uttered by friendly voices.

"Not at this moment, major; we're continuing to investigate, however." Landry looked at Mitchell who picked up the conversation.

"Major, I think we could use you and a team of your most qualified SO's right now. We certainly have a number of teams here, but as General Landry told you, many of our personnel are known to the Lucian Alliance and its allies. We really need some fresh faces who can slide under the radar."

Lorne nodded, "Sir. I have put a team together and was just going over it with the colonel's team and Mr. Woolsey. We are now working out the details for Atlantis' security while we are gone. I am planning on bringing Major Teldy with me, so I will leave Captain Waters in command."

Landry smiled, "Excellent. Sheppard spoke to me about Waters. In fact, the paperwork is being processed for his promotion now. Let's go ahead and promote him; I want a higher rank in command there with all of you on Earth. With Waters' record, he's a shoo-in; besides O'Neill likes him. Major, please inform Captain Waters, he is now Major Waters, on my orders. You have appropriate rank insignias there?" Lorne answered no. Landry continued, "Then we'll throw some through the gate for you" nodding to someone off-camera to take care of that, "…tell him, celebrations when Colonel Sheppard returns."

"Yes, sir," Lorne was smiling; he liked the new Major Waters as well. He also realized that he was beginning to like General Landry more than he already did.

"OK, boys and girls, currently it is 1940 hours, and we still have intel to gather. Barrett is going to continue investigating who's running the Trust, and see if we can get a location where they might have taken Sheppard. Lorne, get your people together; let's plan on you gating to the SGC at 0800 tomorrow morning, unless we find out something tonight.

Lorne sent Teldy to the gate room for the insignias, and he called Waters to the conference room.

Teyla asked, "Does he know he is to be promoted?"

Lorne started to smile, then a sober expression crossed his face, "No. Colonel Sheppard wanted to surprise him. He doesn't think he's up for promotion until next year."

Captain Waters arrived a few minutes after Teldy returned with the small box holding the gold oak leaf insignias. The captain halted by the open doors, waiting to enter the conference room. Woolsey motioned for him to enter.

Waters acknowledged Woolsey and addressed Major Lorne, "You wanted to see me, sir."

"Yes, I did…Major Waters." It took a second for Waters to comprehend, but when he did, he flashed a subdued smile. He, as everyone on Atlantis, was more concerned about Colonel Sheppard than themselves.

"Sir, I…" He faltered, then came to attention; "Thank you, sir."

"You need to thank Colonel Sheppard when he returns; he's the one who made this happen. Your promotion was already in the works; it just got bumped up because of the situation. Captain Preston Waters, by orders of General Landry, you are hereby promoted to the rank of Major in the United States Air Force. You will take the formal oath in a ceremony to be held after Colonel Sheppard's return." Lorne took the box containing the gold oak leaves from Major Teldy and handed them to Waters.

"Congratulations, major. Now have seat, we have work to do.

~ooOOOoo~

The darkness was slowly turning to light. He wasn't certain where he was. A low rumbling sound reverberated in his ears, but he couldn't distinguish its source. Slowly opening his eyes, he was drawn toward brighter light spilling from his left. Though his vision was blurry, he realized he was looking through a window. Outside, a storm was raging; heavy rain was pelting the window pane, intense bolts of lighting streaked across the sky. Now recognizing the sound he had heard as thunder, he closed his eyes, giving in to the hypnotic sound of the rain. He was drifting into the darkness once more until he heard a soft, anxious, and familiar voice.

"John…John; are you awake?"

He felt a soft hand on his face, caressing his cheek. Opening his eyes, he was looking into Isabella's dark green, red rimmed eyes. He tried to speak, but only managed a croaking sound. He attempted to say her name again, "Bel…Bella?

She was silent, laying her head on his shoulder, her body trembling with hushed sobs. Without looking, she groped along the bed rail for the call device. Raising her head slightly, she called the nurses' station, barely able to say, "Come, please; he's awake."

Seconds later, Melanie and two other nurses rushed into the room. Melanie turned John's head from looking at Isabella to look at her. "Colonel, welcome back again. You really had us worried this time. Do you know where you are?" He moved his head slightly. "Not good enough, you have to tell me."

"Hos...hospi…tal."

"Yes, you are still in the hospital in DC. Do you know her?' Melanie indicated Isabella.

"Yeah….Bella…"

"Good, colonel, very good. Dr. Beckett should be here in moments, he was in the hospital already."

"Wha…what…happen?" John reached out, grabbing Melanie's arm.

"Colonel…you had a…." She stopped as Dr. Beckett walked into the room. "I'll let Dr. Beckett tell you, colonel."

"Hey, laddie, welcome back to us. You gave us quite a scare. Do you remember anything leading up to when you blacked out?" Beckett pulled out a little penlight and began to check John's pupils.

"Angry…I was angry…" John turned his head and closed his eyes. A headache beginning to strike drumbeats in his head. Isabella was holding his left hand; he squeezed her small hand gently for the reassurance he felt with her there.

"Yes, you were angry, John. That was my fault; I allowed Dr. Warren to spend too much time with you, forcing you to remember this dream that has you so confused. Your brain, already fragile became overtaxed, and you lapsed into a light coma. I'll continue to allow Dr. Warren to meet with you; however, the sessions will be much shorter.

John shifted on the bed, trying to sit up, but a sharp pain ripped through his side. He fell back onto the bed, wincing with pain. Isabella cried out, and quickly attempted to soothe him.

"John, please lie still. You were badly injured when you tried to break through the window. You suffered serious cuts on your arms and legs, but the wounds have healed well. Your most serious injuries are from the broken ribs. It's going to take time for you to recover."

He looked at her, "How….long…have…have I've…been out?"

Beckett answered, "Fortunately, not as long as the last time. This time your coma lasted only ten days. Now, I am going to insist you get some rest. Isabella will be here, as she has been, day and night. She'll let us know if you need anything. I am going to have Melanie get you something for pain. Get some rest; I'll check on you in a little while."

~ooOOOoo~

As the clock in the SGC gate room struck 0800 hours, the stargate engaged, and the Atlantis team arrived on Earth. Master Sergeant Walter Harriman greeted them.

"Majors, Dr. McKay, Dr. Beckett, Mr. Dex, Ms. Emmagan, welcome to the SGC; the general is waiting for you in the conference room. The rest of you, please follow Airman Jenkins; we have arranged for quarters for you while you're on base. Breakfast is being served in the mess, if you desire. The general has issued stand down orders for you, for the moment."

Lorne nodded to Captain Isaacs, who led the SGA team toward the corridor door. Lorne and the others followed the master sergeant to the mezzanine level. As they reached the top of the staircase, they saw General Landry and Colonel Mitchell, already seated at the long conference table. Sitting at the right of the general was a tall, brown-haired man dressed in a black suit, white shirt, and black tie. Lorne's first impression was if the man had a pair of black sunglasses, he could star in Men in Black III. Lorne chuckled to himself. He met Barrett when he was a member of an SG team; the NID agent was sort of a "man in black."

"Do you people have anything yet?" McKay hurriedly asked, as he reached the top of the stairs.

"Good morning to you, too, Dr. McKay." The general had a sarcastic look on his face, but a sparkle in his eyes. He loved to torment McKay as much as the rest of them. McKay's started to give a snarky retort, but the general continued.

"Actually, we do have a bit more information; just not as much as we would prefer. For those of you who don't know him, this is Special Agent Barrett of NID. Malcolm?"

"Sorry we are meeting under such circumstances, but we have made a bit of progress. Two of my agents were following Colonel Sheppard's projected route between here and Breckinridge. They located a witness who said a dark red car with four men in it pulled up to his convenience store for gas. He provided a decent description of the car. There were three men, who exited the car and came into the store. He told my men, they were friendly, casually dressed, very relaxed. The odd thing was that one of them remained with the car at all times, so he deduced, they must have a child with them." Barrett pushed a picture from the store's security camera toward McKay and Lorne.

"They were still there when a customer, who was having trouble with one of the pumps, came in asking for assistance. He went out to see what was wrong with the pump. That's when one of the guys opened right rear passenger door, and the owner saw there was another man in the car. He got good a look at the man, who appeared to be sleeping. He could have sworn the guy's hands were cuffed. One of the three men noticed he was looking at the guy. The store owner said the man pulled his jacket open and flashed a badge, and mouthed the word 'prisoner'. So he didn't think anything more about it."

"Is this the car, sir?" Lorne asked. The photo he was holding showed a new American sedan, with three men standing around it. Two of the men's faces were very clear in the photo. Barrett nodded

"This photo was captured from a surveillance tape?" McKay asked.

"Yes, we were lucky. This guy still has a videotape surveillance system. He has enough tapes for a two week rotation. In case he has shoplifters and gas thieves, he likes to look back to see if they've been hitting him more than once." He motioned to a sergeant who was sitting at a computer console across the room.

On the monitor, the tape began as the car pulled up, and the three men got out. One started fueling the car; one headed into the store; the other stood by the open rear left passenger door. As the minutes passed, the men came and went, always leaving someone at the rear of the car. The store owner appeared on-screen, working on one of the pumps. Shortly after he appeared, all three men were back at the car. As one of the men opened the door where the 'sleeping' man was sitting, there was an audible gasp from Rodney and Teyla. There was no mistaking the dark, spiky hair. The unconscious man in the back seat was Colonel John Sheppard.

~ooOOOoo~

She was restless. She wasn't home very often, yet she rarely experienced trouble sleeping when she was. Sighing, she rose from her comfortable bed, walking through the open glass doors onto her balcony. The warm soft breezes, carrying the fragrant bouquet of the vivid flowers scattered in containers across the balcony deck, were always soothing to her. The warmth and beauty that surrounded her, coupled with the calming sound of the ocean waves crashing onto the beach below the bluff, normally made her feel peaceful, happy to be home.

Turning her face to the night sky, she smiled as she gazed at the familiar triad moons on their journey across the darkened expanse. The smaller moon, always lagging behind the larger twin moons, completed the triangle that gave the moons their name. The blackness of the sky only served as a backdrop for the majestic Soraya nebula. The fiery nebula's splotches of orange, gold, green, magenta, and blue were surrounded by thousands of glittery stars. She sometimes wondered if sprites had sprinkled shards of shiny crystals across the sky.

Leaning against the balcony balustrade, she attempted to shake the nagging feeling that someone was trying to get her attention. It was what had awakened her, and was preventing her from going back to sleep. It was if someone was calling her name. She thought maybe her restlessness was from being in the fresh air, instead of being in a pressurized ship with its constant temperature and low rumble of the engines, barely audible, unless it ceased to operate, creating a deafening silence. She stood looking out over the cove, emptying her mind of thought. She only wanted to absorb the beauty around her. As she began to relax, she felt a soft voice enter her consciousness.

"Isabella."

She closed her eyes; instead of feeling apprehensive, she felt calmness flow over her. She answered with her thoughts.

"Who are you? You've been trying to get my attention. Why?"

"I expected you to be direct and to the point. My name is Teer, and I am an Ascended Ancient. I am here because I need your help."

"You need my help? What would an ascended being need with my help?"

"Yes, I do need your help, Isabella. I need for you to assist me, because he is in danger. I cannot provide the assistance that he needs."

"He; who is he? Who are you talking about?"

"You already know, Isabella."

Isabella swiftly replied, "I don't have any idea what you are talk…" her voice caught, "oh." Her heart was pounding, her breathing rapid and shallow. "John? You're talking about John."

"Yes, John; he is in grave danger. I am forbidden to assist him, for the others are observing me. They will know if I go to him. They have refused my request to protect him this time. However, they are not monitoring you; you can reach out to him. You can tell him what he needs to know to stay alive."

"First, I need some answers. How do you know I am aware of John?"

"Among the Ascended, there is interference, and there is fate, Isabella. There are forces guiding you and John along the same path. You are destined to meet."

"I dream about him, but you know that, don't you? I keep hearing in my head that he is my destiny, and that we will meet soon. When will that be, Teer? Please, tell me; I need to know."

"All that I can tell you is that you will meet soon."

Isabella took a deep breath, exasperated at hearing the same word, soon. However, she knew that she could never refuse to help him, "Teer, what do I need to do? I don't even know where he is, who he really is. How would he know me, even if I could find him?"

"Isabella, he will know you as you will know him. John dreams of you, as you dream of him; in fact, he is dreaming of you now."

Isabella gripped the railing tightly as she felt her heart begin to race faster. "He dreams of me?"

"Yes, but John has been kidnapped. His consciousness has been placed in a virtual reality, while his kidnappers attempt to extract information from his sub-conscious. He is in grave danger, for his mind is very strong. He is resisting, and his captors are becoming impatient. As I said before, the others will not allow me to warn him, but you can. I will guide your mind to his. Will you help me; will you help him?

Without hesitation, Isabella answered, "Yes, I will help."

"You will only have a short time with him before I will have to withdraw you. If I leave you with him too long, they will discover us. It would be best for you to lie down while I instruct you on what to tell him, and while I send you to him."

Isabella turned toward her bedroom. As she approached her bed, her thoughts centered on one thing. John dreamed of her as well.

~ooOOOoo~

Edward Banks didn't like this particular part of the arrangement the Trust had made. The compound they were using was a major outpost for the Lucian Alliance. Edward was unhappy that the Alliance felt that because they provided the ship to get them to this decadent planet, as well as provide the space for them to work on Sheppard, they were in control of the operation. Being summoned before the Alliance commander was not one of his favorite things. He found the Alliance to be arrogant. Banks felt they were nothing more than thugs that scavenged the leftovers of the Goa'uld Empire. Banks considered himself superior to the Lucian Alliance, but he couldn't argue that they had the technology to help the Trust. Until the Trust found a way to wrestle control from them, and that, as far as Banks was concerned, was only a matter of time.

The commander of the Alliance compound on Nemor, or as Banks called the planet, the hell pit, was a tall, slender man by the name of Geron. His second was a very powerfully built woman named Dresa. Banks thought of the two, Dresa was the more dangerous. Dresa, leaning against the doorframe, had been watching him for the last fifteen minutes, as he sat in the 'greeting' room waiting for Geron to appear. She didn't speak, even when he attempted to engage her in conversation.

Dresa was dressed in the requisite brown leather pants and jacket that the Alliance had adopted as their uniform. Banks had to admit that while she stood at least five inches taller than him, and probably outweighed him by thirty pounds, all muscle he suspected; she looked quite pleasurable. Her long black hair hung straight down her back. Her dark, slightly oval eyes and aquiline nose, gave her an exotic look. Banks decided to while away the minutes waiting for Geron thinking of ways to make Dresa beg him to take her.

He was still engrossed in his daydreams when Geron entered the room, taking a seat in the large, carved wooden chair that sat prominently in the room. He crossed his long legs, sending a menacing look toward Banks. Dresa crossed the room, perching on one of the wide arms of the enormous chair.

Geron whispered to Dresa for a moment, then turned his attention to Banks. "Mr. Banks, I understand that your captive is quite obstinate. Have you been able to gather any information about Atlantis from him?" The Alliance commander's eyebrow raised high above his right eye, clearly indicating his doubts about Bank's answer.

Banks felt the bile rise in the back of his throat. He tempered the urge to draw his weapon, and put an end to the despicable smirk plastered across the commander's face. He answered the commander, attempting to keep the venom from his voice.

"We knew from the beginning that Sheppard was going to be difficult. His imprinting of Atlantis is so strong, that it is difficult to overcome. We also know that he has experienced a virtual environment before. He may be able to discern the difference."

"I thought this Ancient machine that you found was able to overcome that?"

"We suspected that the device should be able to accomplish that. The fact is, there's very little information about how the machine truly operates. Myles, our Ancient tech expert, only has the synthetic gene, and is unsure if his gene was strong enough to initialize the device fully."

"Can you not use Sheppard to activate the device? From what I have been told, the Ancient gene he carries is natural and quite powerful."

Yes, he does have an extremely strong gene. However, he has been kept unconscious so that we can keep his mind occupied while we mine for the information we are seeking. Myles believes he needs to be conscious before his gene can fully initialize the device, but of course, we don't know for certain."

"Then wake him up and force him to activate the device."

"If we do, then he will be aware of what is happening to him. If that happens, we will likely have serious difficulty getting him to accept the virtual reality." Banks was becoming nervous. He might think himself superior to these mercenaries, but he was well-aware of their viciousness.

Geron rose from the ornate chair, closing the gap between himself and Banks. "Then, I suggest, Mr. Banks that you figure this problem out. If you fail, then we will take over and acquire the information. However, we can. Dresa here is a master at extracting information; however, some of her subjects are in, shall we say, pitiful shape when she is done." Geron leaned down into the Earthman's face. "The Alliance will have Atlantis. I am unconcerned about the number of lives it costs to acquire her, even yours."

Banks nodded, and quickly turned to leave. As he reached the door, Geron called after him.

"Banks, I want results by tomorrow morning. If you have not delivered the information to us by then, we will take care of Colonel Sheppard ourselves."

Banks didn't look back; he scurried away from the greeting room. He desired to distance as himself as far as possible from the Lucian Alliance.

~ooOOOoo~

John was awake. He had been lying quietly, thinking about his situation, for nearly an hour. He had no desire to interact with anyone. Isabella had curled her petite body up in one of the wingback chairs, and was sleeping. It wasn't until Melanie came into the room, to check his vital signs, that anyone realized he was awake.

"Colonel, you're awake. How do you feel?" She asked softly, as she glanced at his vitals on the monitor sitting was next to his bed.

He decided to lie, "I feel fine. My head feels much clearer now, not as muddled as when I woke up earlier."

"That is very good news, colonel. Are you hungry?" He nodded. "Well, I am going to get you some food, and then we'll see about getting you a shower if you are up to it. That will make you feel even better."

Melanie left, and John allowed his eyes to drift toward Isabella. She must have been awakened by their voices. She was stirring, and had lifted her head to look in his direction. As Isabella smiled at him, he heard a soft voice in his head. "She is coming."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed Chapter 4. I would love to hear from you.


	5. Run

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Colonel John Sheppard wakes up after suffering a serious injury to find the memories he holds aren't real. Or are they? Now, he has to determine which reality is really his.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Word Count: Chapter 5: 4,696  
> Spoilers: No blatant spoilers…some mention of events related to Stargate overall.  
> Warnings: Language

REMEMBER ATLANTIS

by stella_pegasi

Chapter 5 Run

Matt Tichtor couldn't decide if Banks was extremely pissed off, extremely frightened, or both. He had just returned from his meeting with Geron. Matt knew he wouldn't be in a good mood after meeting with that unsavory man. There was something slimy about Geron and the 'Amazon' woman who followed him around. However, Banks' mood was beyond anger; he was ranting about the lack of results and wanted someone's head. Matt was attempting to dodge Banks as much as he could; he wanted to make certain his head wasn't the one to be lost.

Edward Banks stood in the small chamber where Sheppard was being held, a decidedly enraged look on his face. The Trust operative was screaming at Myles to get on with this, or the Lucian Alliance would take over. Myles stood nose to nose with Banks, not backing down.

"Listen, Banks, I told you from the very beginning, when the Alliance found this Ancient device, that this plan might not work. We don't really understand this device; we should have taken more time to figure it out."

Banks sank down onto a stool across from the bed Sheppard was lying on. "Myles, we didn't have more time. When we learned that Sheppard was on Earth and on his own, we had to move. Another chance like that might not have presented itself for a very long time. The council didn't think we had a choice."

"Well, we should have waited. I told the council it was too soon, but they wouldn't listen. Now get out of here; let me get to work. Sheppard's brain waves have stabilized, which indicates he's not fighting me as much. Heed my warning, Banks; it's going to take longer than the timeframe Geron gave you. If you let Geron have him, we won't find out anything. Sheppard's not gonna give up information about Atlantis; not that way."

~ooOOOoo~

Corporal Brenner was sitting on the floor of the SGC gym. He was watching his fellow corporal, and best friend, Ray Rodriguez, whip an SGC sergeant in a one-on-one game of basketball. Rodriguez had won a lot of bets playing basketball, at 5'9" most big guys thought they could beat him without breaking a sweat. What they didn't count on was how crazy quick he was. The way this game was going, Rodriquez was going to clean out the entire SGC Marine contingent of their hard earned cash.

Rodriguez sank the winning basket as Captain Stackhouse, their team C.O., stuck his head around the door. "Gear up, guys; Major Lorne ordered us to report to the gate room in fifteen minutes. We've finally got some planets to check out."

Ray jogged over to the pissed-off Marine, who was holding the bets. Snatching the money from the Marine's grasp, he smiled. "Let's do this again sometime." He then jogged over to Brenner, who was holding the hallway door open, "Come on, broki; let's go find our C.O."

~ooOOOoo~

Myles was nervous. The first time he had tried to pull Sheppard out of the VR he had been placed in; Sheppard had become over agitated, throwing himself off the bed. He had crashed into some of the equipment and injured himself. He had to be more careful as he manipulated the various levels of control into Sheppard's consciousness. He didn't want the Trust or the Alliance to discover he was a NID undercover agent until he, and Sheppard, were long gone.

Having read the Trust's file on Sheppard, he knew that the colonel's father was dead, and they had been estranged. Introducing Sheppard's father had been a trigger to get him angry and aware enough to fight his way out, but it proved too stimulating. He would introduce him again, but this time, at a lower intensity. He had kept a great deal of what he had learned about the device from the Trust. The Ancient device seemed to be designed for the person under its influence to leave at will. However, the doctor doing the Trust bidding was keeping Sheppard out cold, so they could probe his mind. The Trust had provided a Tok'ra memory device to uncover Sheppard's memories. A device he was making certain wasn't effective. Myles had to figure out a way to get Sheppard from the VR and conscious without anyone knowing. Now that the Alliance was putting pressure on them, it wasn't going to be easy.

He was deciding how to dial back the amount of the sedative quicker without the doctor realizing it, when he noticed a spike in Sheppard's EEG readings. Sheppard's brain was a hive of activity. Myles checked over the device settings, and was unable to determine why. As he watched the brain wave patterns on the monitor, he realized that he was looking at two distinct patterns.

"What the hell?" Myles mumbled. "Who is in there with you, Sheppard?"

~ooOOOoo~

It had been three days, since he woke up for the second time; at least, that's what everyone kept telling him. John had only vague recollections of the time. He remembered waking up a few times, seeing faces, speaking to Isabella, but couldn't put the pieces together.

The room was bright, sunlight pouring through the big double window. From his bed, John could see the lake, people walking around, patients sitting with family or staff. He was lost in looking at the peaceful scene until he felt Isabella's arms wrap around him.

"Hey, handsome, how are you feeling today?" She was smiling, a radiant smile that was brighter than the sunlight.

Returning her smile, he replied. "Still a little confused about the last few days, but I feel stronger than I did."

"Good, John; I'm very glad you seem to be doing so well." She hopped up on the edge of the bed, and embraced him tightly. "How would you like to spend some time outside, by the lake?

"I'd like that."

"I thought you would." She kissed him quickly, and jumped off the bed. Walking over to the closet, Isabella pulled out a dark blue shirt, his favorite faded blue jeans, and a pair of scruffy dark brown boots.

"Dr. Warren believes that you will feel more like yourself in your own clothes. I went home and picked-up your favorite shirt, jeans, and these awful boots." She brought the clothes to him, sitting the boots on the floor next to the bed. "I can't imagine why you love these old, nasty boots."

Mocking her with feigned indignation, "I'm hurt, I love those boots; they're just getting comfortable." He paused; a wicked half-grin on his face. "You gonna help me get dressed?"

"Sorry, Dr. Beckett made me promise to call for an aide. More bad news, you're going to have to go outside in a wheelchair. Beckett insists you are simply too weak yet to walk all the way." He frowned, but she laughed, "For goodness sakes, John, it's not that bad."

Fifteen minutes later, Isabella was pushing his wheelchair along the edge of the small lake. They stopped at a bench that sat along the water's edge next to the sidewalk. Isabella helped him from the chair, and they walked the remaining steps to the bench.

The sun felt comforting on his face. The breeze was warm, blowing across the lake bringing the smell of the water. He put his arm around Isabella, drawing her close. She had been telling him that Miss Gilly had flown to New York City for her grandson's college graduation, but that she would be back in a couple of days. She went on to tell him about Maddie's promotion at the State Department. As she continued to talk, John closed his eyes; he was convinced this was a dream. However, for one moment, he simply wanted to listen to Isabella's voice.

In the middle of a sentence, Isabella abruptly stopped. John turned to look at her and when she turned toward him, he felt a tremor course through his body. Something was different; her eyes…her eyes were different. They were warm, piercing, full of passion.

"Isabella?

Her voice was different, richer, more melodic, softer; like satin sliding across his skin. "John, I am Isabella; the real Isabella." She raised her hand to caress his cheek. "I have been waiting impatiently to meet you." His hand closed over hers, pressing her small, slender fingers into his cheek.

"Isabella, it's really you? You know me? You know who I am? " She smiled, slightly nodding her head affirmatively. "I was right, this…" he motioned to the lake, the sky, "…none of this is real."

"No, none of this is real except for this moment. My consciousness is here, in this virtual reality, as is yours." She enveloped his left hand with her smaller hands.

"Isabella, how…how are you here?"

"Teer made this possible, John. She came to me, requesting my help to get a message to you. She said the other Ascended were preventing her from interfering; from helping you again. How could I refuse her when it was to help you? She guided me to you, and is allowing me to speak with you." She was trembling; John squeezed her hand tightly to reassure her.

"Teer says you have been kidnapped by the Trust, and they are working with the Lucian Alliance. They want to take her."

John looked at her, quizzically, "Take her, who?"

"Teer wouldn't tell me. She told me that I can't know anything about you more than this; she cannot explain any further. Teer said you would understand; that 'she' was very special to you, more important than anyone." John noted the anxious look that flitted across her lovely face; she was unnerved by that thought. He was embarrassed that he felt pleased at her distress over the notion that someone, someone else, was so important to him.

He smiled, "It's alright, Isabella. I know who she means; it's…" He tried to say Atlantis, but he couldn't speak the word, frustrated, he asked, "What's happening, I can't say the name?"

"Teer was adamant. There are things that we cannot know about each other, at least, not today. I assume she is preventing you from telling me…who…you care about so much." Isabella looked downward, unable to meet his gaze. John lifted her chin, running his thumb gently along her jaw line. She smiled slightly.

"She will not permit me know where you are, or to tell you anything about me. John, I don't have much time; you must allow yourself to become free of this reality. You have an ally; his name is Brody Myles, and he is working covertly for the NID. You need to trust him. He's the tech, who is monitoring you in this virtual reality. He attempted to bring you out earlier, using a memory that he thought would cause you to fight against the reality. You fought harder than he anticipated, and emerged too rapidly."

John took a sharp breath, "My father."

She hesitated at the pained expression that crossed his face. "I am sorry that the memory was difficult, John, but you were still under the influence of the sedative you are receiving. You reacted so quickly, he wasn't able to wake you up fully. Myles is reducing the sedative levels. He hopes to have you awake shortly. He is certain that if you are conscious, that you can exit this reality. Teer said to be ready for some type of disturbance in the transmission; when that occurs, you need to act. Be careful; you injured your ribs, badly, in the earlier attempt."

"Bella…" He slid his hand along her neck; his fingers tangled in the soft curls of her thick dark blond hair.

She gasped, "Only my…father calls me Bella; but you, you called me that in my dreams."

He moved closer to her; his lips brushing hers, "I know."

John kissed her softly, savoring the sensation of her…real, warm, yielding. She responded, burning against him; he sensed her desire for him, drawing him into a deeper kiss. Much too soon, Isabella pushed away from him.

She leaned against his chest as his arms encircled her. Her soft voice trembled as she whispered, "I can feel Teer pulling me away; I don't want to leave you, John. She promised we would meet soon…soon…"

"Bella…" But she was gone; in her place, the same beautiful face, the same amazing dark green eyes, but her life force was gone. He pulled the image of Isabella close, and waited for the sign from Brody.

~ooOOOoo~

"Major Lorne, this is a wild goose chase. Sheppard could be on the other side of the galaxy for all we know." Rodney was hot, tired, and frustrated and wasn't trying to hide it.

"Dr. McKay, I am well aware of that. The only intel that the NID could give us is that there has been Lucian Alliance activity on these three planets. Hopefully, we are going to find something that will help." Lorne pulled at the tight collar of the shirt he was wearing. They had first gated to an SGA outpost, where he, Sheppard's team, and two of the SO's, Major Teldy and Sgt. Mehra, had changed into clothing that would allow them to blend in with the inhabitants. The others were in uniform and had gated in after them, maintaining their distance, staying just close enough if needed.

The current planet, the second one they had gated to, was nearly identical to the first planet they had visited. It was another former Goa'uld controlled planet that had fallen under the control of the Lucian Alliance. This planet had strong naquadah deposits, which the Alliance protected with a large number of armed minions. The Atlantians made their way to the town square. The streets were bustling with people from all over the galaxy, there to do trade, or who knows what.

Teyla noticed a group of people, who had exited a tavern, and seemed to have quite an interest in the Atlantians. She casually turned away and placed her hand on Lorne's arm.

"Major Lorne, it appears we are being watched by those people standing next to the tavern entrance."

Lorne smiled at her, as if they were having a pleasant conversation, "Saw them; there are also a couple of Lucian Alliance soldiers just down the street. They've been watching us as well." He glanced at the tavern, "However, I believe the group next to the tavern seems to be more interested you, Teldy, and Mehra."

Teldy spoke up, "Evan; the intel from said there were a lot of slave traders who work these planets. I have a feeling those guys might fit the bill."

Teyla nodded, "There is one way to find out; I believe that we," indicating Teldy and Mehra, "should go into the tavern and see what happens. Slave traders always know everything that is going on."

Ronon's voice was nearly a low growl, "Teyla that is too dangerous."

Teyla smiled at her teammate, "Ronon, are you saying that the three of us, can't handle ourselves?" She was teasing Ronon just a bit, but Teldy and Mehra weren't as amused.

Ronon grunted a low reply, "No, I don't mean that…"

Lorne grinned at Ronon, "No way out of that, Ronon. Teyla, we'll keep an eye on all exits. Keep your radio hidden in your hair, tap twice if you need us to come inside."

Teyla nodded, and she and the two female Marines headed for the tavern.

~ooOOOoo~

John woke up back in his room; Isabella was with him as was his brother Dave. As he opened his eyes, Dave spoke.

"Hey, there you are. You gave us another scare; you passed out when you were outside."

Isabella came to him, "You suddenly slumped over, and we were so afraid that you had lapsed into a coma again. So glad you're awake, John."

"John, Dad's outside, he wants to come in and see you; you up to seeing him?" Dave had a pleading look in his eyes. John nodded OK. Smiling, Dave rushed to the doorway and motioned for their father to come into the room.

John was calm, he knew that nothing about what he was experiencing was real, and he was prepared to see the image of his father. He suspected that Brody was attempting to pull him out and his father's appearance was a sign.

Patrick Sheppard walked into the room and with his presence, the room became considerably smaller. Real or not, his father made an impression; tall, handsome, his carriage that of an aristocrat, and always impeccably dressed. Miss Gilly once reminisced that his mother had told her that she had fallen in love with Patrick Sheppard at first sight. His mother, an exotic beauty from the Louisiana bayou, had loved this man. For the life of him, he wished he knew why.

Pulling up a stool, the elder Sheppard sat down next to his youngest son and placed his hand on John's forearm. John resisted the urge to pull away from his father's touch.

"You've been though a lot, John; I'm so glad that you are awake again."

John muttered, "Thanks."

"We've been talking," his head slightly jerking toward Isabella and Dave, "and we think you need to consider leaving the Air Force. You and Isabella could start a family; you could join Dave and me in the business. John, you would have a good life. You just have to put all of this nonsense about this ridiculous Atlantis behind you. Dr. Warren wants to continue your talks, have you tell him everything you think you know about this Atlantis. Get it out of your system."

"Everything; you think I should tell Warren, everything about Atlantis?"

"Yes, every little minute detail that you have; Warren thinks if you remember everything you will finally be free of this nonsense."

John looked at his father and chuckled, "Got my life all planned out for me, don't you Dad?"

"I think this is the best course of action for you."

John was about to answer, when the images surrounding him blinked out, darkness enveloping him. Almost instantaneously, the images reappeared, but they were grainy, distorted.

He sighed. "Dad, your plans have never been the best 'course of action' for me." John could feel his connection to the virtual reality becoming tenuous. He turned to gaze at Isabella. As her image faded, he thought about the real woman who had been with him for too short a time. He would survive; he had to survive. Isabella was more than a dream, and she was waiting for him.

He could hear a faint, unintelligible voice floating in his head; as it became stronger, he realized someone was calling his name. He pushed against the darkness trying to answer.

"Colonel, Colonel Sheppard…can you hear me?"

John opened his eyes, the room was dark. He resisted the urge to jump straight up.

"Brody?" The other man didn't react, and it dawned on him that Brody wouldn't know how he knew his name. "Hey, answer me, guy."

"Yeah, colonel, it's Brody Myles; how did you know my name?"

"Help me sit up."

Brody slid his arm under Sheppard's shoulder, helping him upright. It took a few seconds for John to clear his head and shake off the dizziness. As he became more aware of his surroundings, he realized he was attached to several machines, and he wasn't wearing any clothes. He wasn't certain which was more upsetting.

"Colonel, we don't have much time. What you are seeing on the monitors, are recording of your vitals and brainwaves. The data is running on a continuous loop, but eventually they'll catch on. Daylight is in about five hours, so if we're lucky we have until then. Let me get these leads off of you and remove the IV."

Brody started by removing a small device from John's temple, which caused a sharp pain to cascade through his head; he winced, pulling his head away. "Sorry, colonel, this is the Tok'ra memory device that the Trust used to tap into your memories of Atlantis."

"Did they get any information?" concern was evident in John's voice.

Brody smiled, "No, sir. I was trained by a Tok'ra how to use this device. The Trust doesn't know anymore about Atlantis than they did before they snatched you. I made sure of it."  
"Good job, Brody."

When he completed removing all of the leads, he asked, "Can you stand, sir?"

John slid off the cot and stood, a bit shaky, but he could stand. He, however, couldn't stifle a groan from the sharp pain in his side. He was finally alert enough to realize that his ribs had been taped. There was a long bandage on his upper left thigh, and a bandage just above his left elbow.

"Careful, colonel; you cracked a couple of ribs when we tried this the first time; sorry about that. Also, you have a couple of nasty cuts on your left leg and arm. There's a doctor with the Trust here to monitor you while we had you under. They didn't want you to die on them, at least until they got what they wanted. He patched you up and left pain medication for me to give you. I gave you some pain meds in your IV a bit ago, and I have more with me for later. That's why I left the IV port in your arm." Sheppard nodded, clutching the sheet around him, he was shivering.

"I guess you're cold, aren't you? Here, sir; your clothes are in this bag," he handed Sheppard a cloth drawstring bag. Sheppard pulled the bag open, finding a pair of jeans, a dark blue shirt, t-shirt, his boxers, socks, belt, as well as, his old, brown leather flight jacket, and his favorite scuffed up brown leather boots. He stopped for a moment as a beautiful face with deep green eyes flashed across his memory. He looked up to see Brody staring at him.

"Colonel, you never told me how you knew my name."

Sheppard shook his head, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you. You got a plan for getting us out of here?" He started pulling on his underwear and socks, then followed with the rest of his clothes, as quickly as the pain in his side would allow him to move.

"Well, it's the middle of the night so I managed to drug the only two techs on duty out there," Brody pointed through the glass partition, "so they are out cold; past them is the Lucian Alliance, we'll need to run."

"Yeah, use to that." Sheppard buckled his belt, then slipped on his jacket with a slight groan as he pulled muscles around his ribs. "Got a weapon for me?"

Brody grabbed a leather satchel from under a counter. Reaching into a pocket, he pulled out a handgun. As he took the gun from Brody, Sheppard smiled, "A Sig P226, nice." Brody handed him a couple of 15-round magazines, and a K-Bar in a sheath. Sheppard unbuckled his belt, slipping the sheath around the leather to secure the knife.

Brody said, "Don't worry; I have more mags and some grenades in here."

Sheppard peeked in the satchel. "Got a powerbar, I'm starving?"

Brody smiled and reached in his jacket pocket, "Here you go, colonel; bon appétit. Ready?"

Sheppard could only nod yes; his mouth full of a strawberry powerbar.

The two men exited the small chamber, crossing the larger monitor room quietly, hoping not to disturb the drugged techs. When they reached the corridor door, Brody whispered to Sheppard.

"There may be a few guards roaming the compound, but most should be sleeping. I suggest using your knife if we run into trouble, if possible. We don't want to wake the neighborhood."

Brody slowly opened the door, peering thought the narrow crack. Signaling 'all-clear' to Sheppard, the NID agent slipped into the darkened corridor, Sheppard following. The two men began their escape.

~ooOOOoo~

Teyla, Anne Teldy, and Dusty Mehra walked into the dark, crowded tavern, gathering a great deal of attention immediately. Major Teldy and Sgt. Mehra were almost unrecognizable from their daily personas. Both women had loosened their hair from their normal, stringent military buns, and were dressed in form fitting attire. As they approached an empty table, Teyla thought this plan was going to work.

A barmaid came by, taking their orders for mugs of the local ale. Before she returned with the drinks, two of the men who had been loitering outside, sat down, uninvited, at their table.

"Lovely ladies, I am Nacor. Not often we get such lookers in here. Tell us you aren't just passing though." The taller of the two men was the first to speak. He was in his mid-forties, a huge scar running down the left side of his face, and well-dressed compared to the local crowd. His companion was shorter, younger, and couldn't take his eyes off of Dusty.

Anne leaned over and ran her finger along the larger man's hand. "I bet you say that to all the girls."

He laughed, grabbing her hand, "No…just you."

Two more men joined the group, one forcing his chair between Teyla and Dusty. Teyla caught Teldy's eye; they both knew they were being cornered. Teyla was fairly certain these men could take them out of the tavern, kicking and screaming, and no one would pay attention.

The first round of drinks turned into a second and third. As Teyla downed her last swallow of ale, the men made their move. Three of the men grabbed the women, as Nacor smiled.

"Ladies, we're going to walk out of here and not make a fuss. You are definitely going to make us some money." He rose from the table, turning to walk away. Dusty jerked away from her captor and threw herself at Nacor.

"Oh...are we gonna have a party? I love parties." She fell against him, wrapping her arms around his and squeezed. As he was trying to pry her loose, Teyla and Anne Teldy also grabbed their captors.

Nacor looked at his companions, "Get them out of here and to the ship."

The Atlantis women pretended to be intoxicated, waiting until they had been dragged from the tavern before they made their move. Nacor, who was holding Dusty by the arm, was leading them away from the tavern toward the outskirts of town. Dusty had another plan for him. Nodding to Teyla and Teldy, she went into action. Nacor found himself on the ground, a knee in his chest, and a handgun pressed against his throat. Teyla's captor was quickly pinned against the wall, a K-Bar to his throat. Major Teldy had broken free of her captor, hit the fourth man with a right hook that knocked him out cold, then grabbed her captor's arm, twisting it behind his back, and held her 9-mil to his temple.

Teyla heard a chuckle from behind her; looking around, she saw that the male Atlantians were watching them. She glanced at Ronon and Lorne; with an eyebrow raised, she asked, "Surprised?"

Ronon was grinning, and Lorne, who was leaning against a building, asked. "Need any help?"

"Restraints would be nice, Major Lorne," Teldy responded.

"Certainly, Major Teldy; restraints coming up."

Mehra pulled Nacor up, never moving her gun. The slave trader looked from Teldy to Lorne, then spat toward Lorne. "Majors, I see, no doubt meddling Tau'ri's out to save the galaxy."

Lorne took a step forward, his face inches from Nacor's, "Spit at me again, and I'll let Sgt. Mehra finish you off. I think she'd really enjoy that; right, sergeant?"

Mehra's grinned and pressed her gun harder into Nacor's throat, "Yes, sir."

McKay arrived, having gone to get the rest of the team. Lorne asked, "Stackhouse, did you find a place where we could have a chat with these gentlemen?"

"Yes, sir, we did; if you will follow me."

Lorne motioned for the uniformed Atlantians to escort the prisoners, and they set .out to get some answers. They had a colonel to find.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for continuing to read Remember Atlantis. Chapter 6 will be posted over the weekend. I would love to hear your comments about the story.


	6. Fly Boy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Colonel John Sheppard wakes up after suffering a serious injury to find the memories he holds aren't real. Or are they? Now, he has to determine which reality is really his.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Word Count: Chapter 6: 5,430  
> Spoilers: No blatant spoilers…some mention of events related to Stargate overall.  
> Warnings: Language   
> Disclaimer: I do not own them; I would have treated them better.

REMEMBER ATLANTIS

by stella_pegasi

 

Chapter 6 Fly Boy

 

Sheppard and Brody had been lucky so far; the corridors along the way toward the exit Brody was leading them to, had been devoid of Alliance goons. Approaching a cross-corridor, Brody raised his clenched fist to halt Sheppard in his tracks. His military bearing was evident in his posture and demeanor.

"Once a Marine, always a Marine," Sheppard whispered.

"Oo-rah, sir," he answered, a note of humor in his voice, as he peered around the darkened corner. "Come on, colonel; it's clear as far as I can tell. Move as quickly as you can." Brody and Sheppard moved in tangent as they crossed the intersection.

They reached the other side of the intersecting corridor without incident, and continued on. Sheppard could see a small light illuminating a doorway at the end of the corridor. Once they reached the door, Brody turned the knob cautiously and pushed the door opening, revealing a stairway.

"We need to go down two flights to the main floor. I suspect we'll run into to a few bogies once we get there."

Sheppard nodded, "Let's go; the sooner we get out of here, the happier I'll be."

They stealthily made their way down the stairs. Sheppard smothering the pain from the jarring of his ribs, as they descended. Once they reached the main floor stairway door, Brody turned to Sheppard.

"Colonel, the main entrance to the compound is directly down the corridor in front of this door. We don't want to go that way. When we go through the door, turn to your left, go down the hall about thirty feet until you reach a door on the left that says, 'accommodations'; it's a seldom used head. Stay in front of me, if a guard stops us, I can hold them off for a few seconds, since they know me. Inside, there's a window to the right that I jimmied to remain unlocked. Get through the window, and run straight for the tree line; I'll be right behind you."

Brody pulled the door open and brighter light spilled into the stairway vestibule. Glancing at Sheppard, he stepped aside, and Sheppard slipped through the door, K-Bar in hand. They had only gone about ten feet when they both heard the sound of footsteps coming from the main hallway. Picking up their pace, Sheppard made it to the door and entered the bathroom. The owner of the footsteps spotted Brody before the NID agent could make it inside.

Sheppard could hear a rough voice call out to Brody. "Hey, what are you doing on this level? You know you people are restricted to the third floor; you are not allowed anywhere else in the compound without an escort."

Brody was standing in front of the open door, Sheppard just inside. Jerking his head toward the interior of the bathroom, the colonel indicated what he wanted the NID agent to do. Brody smiled and turned to the Alliance guard.

"Listen, man, the bathroom's not working up there; I remembered there was one down here. Just gotta go to the head; if you want to escort me, come on. I'm going right back up when I'm done. It's not like I'm trying to escape."

The guard had caught up with him, "You aren't going anywhere unescorted."

Brody laughed and headed into the bathroom. "Fine, if you get your jollies watching me take a leak, come on."

The guard was angry and barreled into the small room after Brody. The last thing he remembered was someone grabbing him from behind, and the feel of warm blood flowing down his neck before he could utter a sound. He dropped, dead before he hit the floor. The guard's leather coat was open and Sheppard wiped the blood from his K-Bar using the guard's shirt.

Standing up, a look of pain on his face, he asked Brody, "Give me a boost through the window?"

Brody knelt down and Sheppard placed his right foot on Brody's bent knee. Brody helped him push up; with some difficulty, the colonel swung his left leg over the windowsill. A few seconds and groans later, Sheppard was on the ground; Brody following quickly. Brody pointed to the tree line, and both men took off at a dead run for the thick cover of trees and brush.

In the darkness, with only dim moonlight to guide them, they threaded their way through the thick underbrush as cautiously as they could. Despite being careful, Sheppard was feeling every step he took, pain radiating in his ribcage. Brody was aware that the colonel was hurting, but was keeping that fact to himself.

After a couple of hundred more feet, Brody grabbed Sheppard's arm, "Let's rest here for a second. I doubt that they've found the guard yet. In fact, since his body is in a little used location, we might get lucky, and they won't find him quickly at all."

Sheppard sank to the ground, leaning against a tree. "Got any water in that satchel?" Brody pulled a small water bottle out of the leather bag, and tossed it to Sheppard. Brody watched Sheppard grimace as he twisted the top off the canteen. But he didn't offer to help; he was pretty certain Sheppard wouldn't like that.

"Colonel, it's been a while since you've had any meds. Let me give you something to knock down the pain a bit."

Sheppard shook his head no, "Not yet, want to keep my head clear." He took another drink and tossed the canteen back, asking, "So, what's the next part of your plan? Get to the stargate?"

Brody frowned, "There's no stargate on this planet, colonel."

Sheppard looked stunned, "No stargate; there's no stargate here?" Brody shook his head. Sheppard sighed, "Then how the hell do we get off this rock?"

"Well, Colonel Sheppard, I hope you are as good a pilot as your file indicates you are."

~ooOOOoo~

"What makes you think I'd tell you anything…Major?" Nacor was sitting in a wooden arm chair in a large rustic room. The Marines had located an abandoned building, about a half-click from the town, to use for interrogating their prisoners. Sgt. Mehra had secured the slave trader to the chair. The word gentle was missing from Mehra's vocabulary. His arms, legs, and chest were tightly bound with a length of dirty rope she found outside the building.

Lorne was sitting on a workbench that stretched across one wall, "I figure you're going to talk to save your hide. You are far too successful at what you do for the Lucian Alliance to not know who you are. So I figure you've either paid them off, or you have a silent business partner. Which is the real story, I don't care." Lorne hopped down from the bench and slowly walked toward Nacor.

Stopping in front of the bound man, Lorne smiled, "I'll ask you again; what do you know about the kidnapping of a military officer from Earth?"

"Nothing."

Lorne glanced toward a darkened corner of the room that was out of Nacor's line of vision. He had contacted the SG-1 operative, Jameson, for intel on Nacor's slave trade. Jameson was now standing in the shadows.

The major continued, "Nothing…yeah, that's what you are about to become. First, we know you work with the Alliance. We know when they want to take over a village or town, planet, and the inhabitants are resistant they use you. They send in you and your thugs, and you start stealing the young women and men. Chaos ensues. The Alliance comes in, stops the kidnappings. You get arrested. The Alliance becomes the heroes, then they let you go. The Alliance tells the citizens, 'sorry, we can't find your loved ones, but we'll make certain that this doesn't happen to you again.' The Alliance gains control and you get your slaves to sell. Nice little set up…but it's about to end."

Nacor stared at Lorne, not speaking, then spat toward Lorne for the second time. Lorne managed to step back and not be struck by the spittle. However, the major was most unhappy.

"Mehra, what did I tell this guy when he did that before?"

"That you'd let me finish him off, sir." Mehra was smiling, menacingly.

"How 'bout you just teach him a lesson for now. I'll let you finish him off if he doesn't cooperate soon." Lorne walked past Nacor, heading to where Jameson was standing. He motioned for Jameson to accompany him into the next room.

Mehra already had her hand in Nacor's hair, pulling his head back. Lorne heard her tell him, if he spits again…she'd cut out his tongue. Nacor replied that if she did that then he 'couldn't talk, what good would that do her.' Turning back to watch for a second, Lorne heard Mehra say, 'you can still write down what we want to know.'

As he and Jameson headed through the door, Nacor yelled to him, "Hey, major, you think I'm scared. You really are funny. Everyone knows the Tau'ri don't torture; you're weak, think you are so much better than everyone that we'll just bow to you. Fools, I'm not afraid of you. I'm not afr…." He stopped talking abruptly when Mehra's fist connected with his jaw.

Lorne winced as he heard the blow. Spotting Sergeant Johnston, he motioned the 6'5", 250 pound Marine over.

"Johnston, make certain that Nacor can see you. And make certain that she doesn't hurt him too badly, some bruises I don't mind, no broken bones or knocked out teeth. Make some statement that when she gets tired, you'll take over. If he's scared of the beating he's getting from a 130 pound Marine, he's bound to be scared of you." Lorne smiled at the big sergeant.

"Understood, sir; hell, I'm afraid of that 130 pound Marine, sir." Johnston was not grinning.

Lorne resisted the urge to smile, he just answered, "Oo-rah, sergeant."

Jameson was waiting in the next room, sitting in a chair next to a rickety table. Lorne sat down across from him.

"Tough Marines you have there, Major."

"Yeah; well, they're pretty motivated. They don't take kindly to anyone who messes with Colonel Sheppard."

"I heard all those stories, a few years back, about Sheppard; I hear now that not a damn one was true."

"Well, he did steal a helo in order to rescue three guys behind enemy lines; but in my book, that made him a hero. Then he just went and compounded that notion by being one of the bravest and smartest men I've ever known. Hell of a CO, but I don't think he realizes how much he means to people of the Atlantis expedition. He's just doing his job."

"I have a feeling you guys would do whatever you had to do to get him back."

Lorne only nodded; he wasn't certain what he might be capable of to get his CO back. Not just because of the respect and admiration he had for Sheppard, but he saw the looks on the faces of the military personnel and scientists, who had gathered in the gate room when they left for Earth. They wanted their CO back, as well.

"Did you find out anything else besides the fact that Nacor and his group swap favors with the Lucian Alliance?"

"Lt. Pervis has been on MX4-389 for a couple of weeks; his latest report to the SGC was that Nacor has been seen with an Alliance commander by the name of Geron. They seem to be quite chummy. Geron has led the takeover of several villages and planets for the Alliance. From what I can gather, he's pretty ruthless. Just the kind of guy that would look the other way when slave traders came to town."

"Any idea where Geron is at the moment, or if he has anything to do with this?"

"No, but we'll keep trying. I don't know about you, Lorne, but I think we might have gotten lucky on this. My gut tells me that Nacor knows more than he's telling." A sharp cry from the other room brought Lorne to his feet.

"Better go and rescue our prisoner from the clutches of a pissed-off Marine."

~ooOOOoo~

"Would you care to explain that statement, Brody?"

"One of the reasons that the Trust and the Alliance chose this compound was the fact it doesn't have a stargate. The Alliance uses this place as a way to escape from the SGC. The last thing they wanted, having kidnapped you, was a whole bunch of Marines flooding through a stargate looking for you."

"Does anyone know you came here?"

"No, sir; Banks, Tichtor, about six techs, the doctor, and I left Earth in an Alliance Ha'tak. We were dropped off on a planet and gated to another planet to rendezvous with an Alliance cargo ship. We brought the majority of the equipment we needed with us, but the Ancient device was already at this location. We just didn't know where the location was. No sooner did we arrive at the last gate than we were drugged. When we came to, we were on a ship; not certain how long we were out, but it was at least another three hours before we got here."

Sheppard shifted, a surge of pain shooting through his ribcage. This time he was unable to stifle his discomfort, and cried out. After laboring to take a deep breath, which only caused another ripple of pain, he admitted, "OK, if I have to fly us out of here, I need to knock the edge off this pain."

Brody was already digging for the vial and syringe. From the cry of pain and the ragged breaths that the colonel was taking, he decided Sheppard was getting pain meds, whether he wanted them or not. Both of their lives depended on the colonel; he had to be able to pilot the ship.

"I'm not going to give you a huge dose, colonel; that can wait until you get us off this planet." He wiped the port and the vial down with an alcohol pad, withdrew a small amount of drug from the small glass vial and injected it into the port on Sheppard's hand. Then sat back, waiting for Sheppard's breathing to ease.

After a few minutes, Sheppard appeared to be more comfortable. Brody hated to disturb him. Sleep would be the best thing for him, but they needed to move. "Colonel, we have to keep moving. The ship is about a click and a half from here. I'd like for us to be off this planet before they even know we're gone."

Sheppard nodded, extending his right hand toward Brody. The NID agent gently tugged the colonel to his feel and pointed to the north. The two men continued their escape.

~ooOOOoo~

McKay, Teyla, Ronon, along with Captain Isaacs and his team, had returned to the tavern to see if they could gather any more information. Isaacs entered with them, while his team waited outside the tavern, ready to join Sheppard's team should they be needed. When Teyla walked in, several people seemed surprised. They had seen her and the other women leave with Nacor. From the looks on their faces, they had not expected to see any of the women again. The fact that she was back, accompanied by six men, four in military uniforms, seemed to unnerve the crowd.

Teyla strode directly to the bar with the Atlantian men in tow. The bartender watched her warily as she approached. She addressed him, "We are in need of information. What do you know about the man, Nacor, who was in here with me and my friends earlier?"

The bartender answered Teyla, a rough edge creeping into his voice. "Who wants to know?" He slammed the mug he was holding down on the bar in front of her.

Teyla didn't flinch, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw Captain Isaacs raise his weapon, and she could hear Ronon's blaster powering up. She answered, "As you can see, we are in no mood to talk. We want information."

"Well, try elsewhere, I ain't got no for information for you." The bartender started to turn away, but Ronon was quicker. Within seconds, the business end of Ronon's blaster was pressed to the underside of the man's chin.

"You might want to rethink that." Ronon's voice was low, his intention quite clear.

The bartender's bravado changed and he looked fearful. "Look, I try to keep the trouble down here, but I can't tell you nothing. I'd be dead before sunset if I talked about those men. They have Alliance protection. Everybody knows that. You'll get nothing from me about them."

"Ronon let the man go; he is no use to us, he is too scared." Teyla said.

Ronon pulled back his blaster. The fact the man did not react to Teyla's insulting comment, told Ronon the man was truly scared.

Rodney was becoming exasperated again, "Damn it. We've been on this planet for four hours, and we don't know anything yet. We need some solid information if we are going to find Sheppard."

"Try to be calm, Rodney; I am certain if Nacor has any information, Major Lorne will get it from him. The major has sent Teldy and part of her team back to the outpost planet to report to the SGC. Stackhouse and the others are scouting around town. We must be patient. From what you have told me about the Trust, they want something from John. I doubt they will kill him; at least, not for a while."

Rodney frowned, he started to reply, but stopped as he watched a man approaching them.

"I am sorry. I overheard you talking about that man in here with you earlier."

"Do you know something about him?" Teyla smiled, a charming but subdued smile.

"I know enough to know if you are still here, then you may be more powerful that he is. Is there somewhere we could talk?" He was nervous, fidgeting. He cast a glance at the bartender to see if he was watching.

"Of course, let us step outside." Teyla turned, the man followed her out. Ronon and McKay followed behind their new acquaintance.

As they walked into the late afternoon sun, Isaacs' team, immediately alerted to a stranger in their midst. Isaacs nodded all was OK, and they relaxed, somewhat. The group walked toward a bench at the end of the tavern's front. Teyla sat down and motioned for the man to sit.

"Who are you?" She asked.

I am Monor Paten; I am a merchant here. You have to understand. We were subjected to thousands of years of Goa'uld control, and then the Ori came to our planet. Fortunately, they were not here long, but they did great damage to our people. When they were defeated, we thought things would be better. Then the Lucian Alliance came, and took advantage of us. The only thing I can say is that they aren't as bad as the others. They come and take what they want, but they don't hurt us, unless someone gets in the way."

Paten was quiet for a moment, the resumed speaking, "The man you asked about showed up in the village a few days ago. I was told a Goa'uld ship arrived shortly after. I have never seen the man who came to him, but he was a Lucian Alliance Commander. We knew that this man, Nacor you called him, was up to no good, but it wasn't until yesterday when a traveling vendor came into my store that we knew what they were up to. The vendor told me to warn everyone that Nacor was a slave trader, and that he was protected by the Alliance. I didn't believe him until I came into the tavern today and discovered that nine young men and women have gone missing from the village since Nacor arrived. He's taken them. But you, you got away. Can you help us find these people?"

Teyla looked at Ronon, then Rodney, then Captain Isaacs before she answered, "Monor, we are here to find a friend, someone very important to all of us. However, we will try to help, if we can. Where can we find you?"

"My shop is three doors down from the tavern. I live above the shop."

"We will be in touch."

Rodney, waited until Monor was out of hearing range, "Teyla, what the hell? We don't time to look for these people. We have to find Sheppard."

"Rodney, they were taking us to a ship. Perhaps if we can find the ship, the ones they have kidnapped may still be there." She turned to Ronon and Isaacs.

"Ronon, captain; scout along the direction they were taking Teldy, Mehra and me this afternoon. We'll radio you if we need to leave. Meanwhile, Rodney and I will join Major Lorne and see what they have discovered."

Ronon left with Isaac's team, while Teyla and Rodney headed for the abandoned house.

~ooOOOoo~

Geron was livid. He had been awakened by the chief guard, Viras, who clearly didn't want to tell him that their prisoner was missing, and that one of the Alliance guards was dead.

"How did this happen? Were there no guards on the Trust personnel? How could they simply walk out of this compound? I want answers. Bring Banks to me now."

Ten minutes later, a very grouchy and disheveled Edward Banks was escorted into Geron's chambers. The Trust leader was angry, "What the hell did you drag me here in the middle of the night for?"

Geron had dressed, and was sitting at a desk located in one corner of the room. He rose and walked over to Banks. "You would like to know why I had you brought here. Well, perhaps it would interest you to know that the object of your experiments has disappeared, along with your chief technician."

"What are you talking about, Sheppard's gone? How did you let this happen? Your people were supposed to be guarding him. Do you realize what this means?"

"Yes, I do realize what that means. That means that you have failed, Banks. Your man apparently helped Sheppard escape, and one of my men is now dead."

"I've failed? Listen to me, you slimy bastard. I wasn't responsible for security here; you promised the Trust that we could work here undetected. Now someone's sprung Sheppard. You don't know if my man was involved or if he was a victim. You just want to make certain you don't look bad." Banks had moved within inches of Geron. The smaller man was extremely angry at being accused of letting Sheppard escape.

Geron just smiled at Banks, "You might want to back away, Banks."

"You threatening me, Geron?"

"No, I just don't choose to have your blood all over me."

Banks was about to answer when he felt the knife enter his back, then he knew nothing at all. His body fell to the floor at Geron's feet. Geron glanced at the body, then at Dresa. Send for Tichtor. "Leave your knife in Banks for the time being. I want Tichtor to know what's in store for him if we don't find Sheppard."

He turned to his chief guard, "Viras; they can't get off this planet. I want every guard out there looking for them. I want them found."

~ooOOOoo~

Sheppard and Brody were making better time now that Sheppard's pain was somewhat lessoned. They made it to the ship's location sooner than Brody had expected.

The forest had begun to thin out, and Sheppard could see lights ahead. He was able to make out a small building, probably the guard shack. There were lights shining through the window, which indicated that there were probably guards inside. Beyond the shack, he could see the outline of two Goa'uld cargo ships. He remembered that the cargo ships were called Tel'taks.

"Colonel, I am not certain how many guards are here. I couldn't get any of the guards in the compound to tell me. I doubt there are more than five or six at night."

"Five or six…I've had worse odds, Brody."

"No, doubt, sir. How do you want to play this?"

"Once we get past the building, any other obstacles before we get to the ships?"

"I don't know, sir; I guess we'll have to make this up as we go."

"Story of my life, Brody." Sheppard took in the area for a moment. "Head for the side of the building; we first need to recon how many people are in that shack. A hostage to give us info would be nice."

"I'll see what I can do about that, colonel." Brody chuckled.

"Let's go."

The two men followed the tree line, as far as they could, then edged close to the guard shack, Brody rose to peek into the window. After a quick glance, he crouched next to Sheppard, flashing three fingers. Sheppard nodded, then whispered to Brody.

"I'll circle around to the other side; then find something to create some noise. You know what to do."

Before Brody could reply, Sheppard was gone. Brody smiled. He'd read some of the mission reports from Atlantis; the guy was fearless. Brody was confident that Sheppard would get them out of this situation.

Peering around the corner of the building, Brody waited. Within a couple of minutes, a rock sailed toward the wooden steps leading from the building. The rock struck the side of the steps and skidded across, falling to the ground on the other side. It made quite a racket.

The shack door opened, spilling bright light into the dark night. A guard came out onto the small platform; his weapon raised, alert for trouble. He first looked in Sheppard's direction; seeing nothing, he pivoted toward Brody's location. That's when Sheppard threw a second rock toward the area where the tree line meandered closest to the building. Yelling to his companions, he took off toward the second noise.

The other guards exited the shack, waiting near the steps to see what the first guard, who was now out of sight, was doing. Intent on locating their comrade, neither man noticed Sheppard slip up behind them. The colonel dispatched the guard closest to him with a twist to the head. The other guard reached for his weapon, but fell before he could pull the weapon from his holster, Brody's knife embedded in his back. Both men headed for the tree line after the other guard.

Brody had retrieved his knife, which was now gripped securely in his hand. Slipping up from behind, he grabbed the guard's wrist and pried the weapon from the guard's clenched hand. He pinned the man's arm behind his back. Holding his knife to the guard's throat, Brody waited as Sheppard carefully bent down to pick up the dropped weapon.

"How many more guards are here?" Sheppard was standing inches from the guard, his eyes hard, intense.

"None."

"I don't believe you."

"I don't care. You aren't getting away; the others will sound the alarm."

"The others are dead." The guard's eyes widened; he was clearly frightened.

"Now, tell me, how many more guards are here."

"None, but you will never get away."

Sheppard was about to reply when the guard tried to wrest himself from Brody's clutches. The guard pushed Sheppard hard; the colonel fell to the ground. Twisting around to attack Brody, he didn't anticipate Sheppard's quick reaction. Kicking his leg out, Sheppard slammed his foot into the guard's left knee. As the guard went down, he started to yell for help. Brody's knife quickly ended the guard's ability to alert anyone.

Offering his hand to Sheppard, Brody slowly eased the colonel to his feet. Noticing, despite the faint light, that his companion was pale, sweat beading along his brow. He asked, "You in one piece, colonel?"

"Feels like more than a few pieces, but I'm ok. Let's get to a ship, but watch out, I have a feeling the guard was lying. There are probably more out there."

Once they left the trees, they would be completely exposed. A few dim lights illuminated the two cargo ships that sat in the open field. There were very few shadows to hide in.

Sheppard whispered, "I would really love a pair of night goggles right now." He turned toward Brody, a slight grin on his face. "You wouldn't happen to have any in that magic satchel of yours, do you?"

Brody chuckled, "No goggles, sir; but I do have grenades. I might be able to disable one of the ships, while we get off this planet off in the other."

Sheppard grinned, "Good idea, Brody, excellent, in fact. Let's get this done." Sheppard set out across the open field, moving briskly; Brody on his six.

They reached the first ship without interference. Sheppard paused, "Brody; I'm going to the next ship. Let me get that ship ready for takeoff. When you hear the engine power-up, throw the grenades inside this one. You need to aim toward the center console; if you can get the angle, without going inside, throw one toward the cockpit. At that point, I suggest you run like hell." Brody nodded, as he pulled the two grenades from his satchel.

Sheppard slipped around the back of the cargo ship, heading for the one parked behind it. Brody hit the access control, opening the hatch, and waited for the engines of the other Tel'tak to engage.

The hatch on the other ship was out of the line of sight from Brody's location, and that fact made Sheppard quite uneasy. He pressed the access control on his ship and entered. He half expected the lights to come on when he entered, then laughed at himself. He softly muttered, "Way to go, John. This isn't Atlantis." He located the environmental control panel and turned on the interior lights.

Sheppard was thankful for the long flights from Earth to Pegasus aboard the Daedalus. He had filled his time during the nearly three week journeys by reading SG-1 mission reports. As a pilot, he had become quite intrigued with the Goa'uld ships, reading everything he could find on them. Coupled with his experience in the F-302's technology, he wasn't worried about flying the ship. He was worried about getting it off the ground before they got caught.

He raced to the control console, engaging the engines. As he heard them power-up, he knew that Brody would be throwing the grenades into the interior of the other ship any second. He quickly crossed to the cockpit, grabbing the heads-up device, waiting for Brody to board. He heard the muffled sound of the explosion from the other cargo ship. As the seconds ticked down, Sheppard became uneasy. Brody should have arrived quickly, and he wasn't there yet.

He had risen from the pilot's chair, intent on checking on the NID agent, when he heard gunshots. Sprinting to the hatch, he saw Brody racing toward the ship, turning to shoot at several guards who were chasing him. Sheppard drew his weapon, taking three of the guards out in rapid succession. Brody was nearly to the hatch. He was less than 10 yards from the doorway when he was hit in the back by an energy blast from an Alliance weapon.

Running to Brody, Sheppard grabbed him using his left arm, feeling the agonizing burning pain radiating from his broken ribs. He continued shooting at the remaining guards, who had taken refuge behind the second ship, as he dragged Brody onto the Tel'tak. As he pressed the door control, and the door began to close, a guard fired at him. The door didn't close rapidly enough. Sheppard was struck in the right hip by an energy beam glancing off the hatch cover.

Steeling himself, he secured the door; staggering, he returned to the cockpit. He reactivated the HUD and placing his hands on the steering sphere, he took off. As soon as possible, he engaged the cloak and began to breathe a bit easier, despite the pain coursing through his body. He swiveled the pilot's chair to look at Brody, who was lying, unmoving, next to the hatch. Sheppard rose gingerly to check on his fallen teammate. As he slowly made his way to Brody, his hip burning intently, he wondered, despite the fact they had managed to escape the planet, if they were going to survive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well…what do you think about the turn of events? Sheppard's injured, his rescuer's injured…who's going to come to their rescue? I'd love to hear from you!


	7. Found

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Colonel John Sheppard wakes up after suffering a serious injury to find the memories he holds aren't real. Or are they? Now, he has to determine which reality is really his.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Word Count: Chapter 7: 5,380  
> Spoilers: No blatant spoilers…some mention of events related to Stargate overall.  
> Warnings: Language   
> Disclaimer: I do not own them; I would have treated them better.
> 
> Author's Notes: Things are beginning to happen, Sheppard and Brody have escaped but in what condition? Sheppard's team is getting closer to putting the pieces together to find Sheppard…but will they find him in time?

REMEMBER ATLANTIS

by stella_pegasi

 

Chapter 7 Found

 

Teyla and Rodney arrived at the abandoned building just as Johnston and Mehra were removing the rope bindings from a very groggy Nacor. Sitting in another chair in same room, was the younger slave trader who had been eyeing Mehra at the tavern. Lorne was leaning against the work bench, talking to the young man. When he spotted Teyla and Rodney, he motioned for Major Teldy, who had returned from the outpost planet, to continue the interrogation.

Dr. Beckett had also returned from outpost planet, Colu, with Major Teldy's team. He had remained at the outpost to treat a group of inhabitant's who had become ill from a tainted well. Lorne suggested that Beckett stay behind and render medical assistance to the villagers. He assured the physician they would send for him once they had reliable Intel about Colonel Sheppard's location.

Beckett was currently patching up Nacor's minor injuries; the worst, a swollen blackened eye. He looked up as Rodney and Teyla walked in.  
"Did you find out anything at the tavern?" he queried in his familiar brogue.

McKay rolled his eyes, and barked out, "Nothing more than we already knew. Nacor here is despicable slime, and involved with the Lucian Alliance. Oh…and we're off looking for a group of kidnapped people; not the kidnapped person we came to find."

Lorne glanced questionably at Teyla, "What's he talking about?"

"We did learn something, major. Nacor and his companions are most definitely slave traders, aligned with the Alliance. Apparently an Alliance enforcer met with Nacor several days ago in the village. A merchant named Monor confirmed that fact. The kidnapped people whom Dr. McKay refers to are the young men and women who are missing from the town. Monor requested we help find them. I asked Ronon and Captain Isaacs to see if they could find the ship that Nacor was taking us to. Perhaps the kidnapped villagers are still there."

"We can confirm that Nacor is in cahoots with the Lucian Alliance. Nacor gave it up; he got tired of Mehra smacking him, but he didn't tell us much. Densin here," Lorne jerked his head toward the young man Teldy was talking to, "told us a bit more. Nacor and his men were working with an Alliance commander by the name of Geron. Pretty bad apple from what the kid said."

Rodney interjected, "That's the name Monor gave the man that met with Nacor…Geron."

Lorne continued, "Jameson seems to think that, from what he has learned about Geron, if the Alliance was going to be engaged in an operation like this, they would use Geron to oversee it. They don't like the Tau'ri, but they love power, so they will join anyone that will help them gain more. Let's see if Densin has any more info on Geron and his operation."

Before they could begin interrogating the young Densin, their COM's activated. Captain Isaacs was reporting that they had located the slavers' ship and the missing villagers.

Lorne turned to Teyla, "Perhaps you and Dr. Beckett should go see if they need help. I'll radio Stackhouse to join you. Tell Isaacs to obtain names and statements from the victims; Jameson is attempting to get these guys off the grid. He is planning to turn them over to a planet where they have taken slaves. The planet is not under Alliance control, and will try these men for their crimes."

Turning to Dr. McKay, Lorne asked, "Sir, could you stay here? We need to find out about this Geron, and what kind of security and weapons he has, if Densin knows. You might have some questions for him." McKay nodded, joining Lorne as Teyla and Beckett headed out to assist Isaacs.

~ooOOOoo~

Only Dresa was calm. The Lucian Alliance guards, standing before Geron, appeared terrified. Word that the Trust member Banks had been killed, and Tichtor beaten, had spread quickly through the ranks. They knew that Geron desperately wanted whatever the Tau'ri Trust members were offering, and that he would do anything necessary to succeed. Word that the Tau'ri military officer had escaped, instilled fear in the guards. The fact that the Tau'ri escaped the planet with one of the Trust operatives pushed Geron past reason.

The tall, menacing Alliance commander was sitting in his large chair in the receiving room of the compound; his security staff lined up before him. He hadn't spoken for several minutes; he simply stared at them. When he finally stood up, no one in the room took a breath.

"We are quite formidable, the Lucian Alliance. This day, however, you have all made fools of me, and a mockery of everything thing that we have worked so hard to achieve. I should kill the lot of you where you stand. However, we have escaped prisoners to locate. I need you to find them." He had begun to pace, and was quiet again. When he stopped pacing and turned to look at them, his eyes were cold, hard, black in the dim light.

"Understand this; if we do not recover our prisoner, there will be nowhere for you to hide." He waited a few seconds allowing his words to sink in, and then addressed Chief Guard, Viras. "Since your 'men' have not only lost one Tel'tak to the Tau'ri, but the other to sabotage, radio for transport. Nera's Ha'tak is in the neighborhood, and should reach us quickly. If we are fortunate, and you should hope that we are, we can intercept the stolen Tel'tak before it reaches Marcon. We need to find them, before they find a stargate."

~ooOOOoo~

The Tel'tak had been traveling for over an hour. Sheppard was trying to stay alert, but he was in a great deal of pain. He yearned for his too short bed on Atlantis, and minimum forty-eight hours of sleep; but he settled for the fairly uncomfortable pilot's seat on the Tel'tak. He had been staring out of the cockpit's large viewport, tying to stay focused but his thoughts kept drifting to memories of the virtual reality. One moment he was watching the HUD telemetry; the next, he was lying in a hospital bed with Beckett standing on one side and Isabella on the other. Isabella. He realized that he was forcing thoughts of her from his mind, but it wasn't working. He also knew that he had to bring his focus back into his physical reality. His life, and Brody's, depended on him maintaining control.

Sheppard swiveled the pilot's chair toward the area where he had moved Brody following launch. Even the ordinary act of pushing off on his foot to turn the chair sent ripples of pain through his hip and ribs. Brody was lying on his right side, his head resting on Sheppard's leather coat, covered with a blanket. Sheppard had rummaged for supplies when they first got underway, finding blankets, several water containers, and provisions.

The NID agent had taken a full blast from the Alliance energy weapon directly on his back. Sheppard decided to keep him from lying flat on the wound. He imagined Brody was hurting worse than he was from the glancing blow to his hip, and he didn't choose to add to his companion's pain. Sheppard breathed a sigh of relief about one thing. The Alliance weapons had been set to stun only; a very fortunate detail for Brody.

He knew he should check on Brody by going over to him, but he simply felt too weak to make the effort. He could see Brody's chest was moving; for the moment, that was going to have to do. Grimacing, he reached for a water bottle sitting on the console, part of the supplies he had found. He also found something akin to crackers and some sort of tinned meat. He had eaten a bit to keep his energy level up. However, Sheppard knew he had to control the pain, or he couldn't function.

Checking the HUD to verify they were on course, he slowly reached for Brody's bag, sitting on the deck next to him. Taking the little medical kit out, he withdrew the vial, another disposable syringe, and an alcohol swab. Drawing up a small amount of liquid, he cleaned the port with the swab, and injected the drug.

While he waited for the drug to kick in, Sheppard reviewed the ship's log once more. Knowing that the cargo ship had left the last planet that the Trust technical team had gated to, it the logical choice to return to that planet. It possessed a stargate; simply land as near as possible to the stargate on the planet, dial the gate, and they would be back on Earth. How much easier could it be? That's what was worrying Sheppard; it was simply too easy. If Geron had an alternate way off the planet, a more powerful ship, or if he had the capability to communicate off-world, the Alliance would be waiting for them. Sheppard realized he and Brody lacked sufficient energy to put up much of a fight.

~ooOOOoo~  
Despite his protestation, the emotion reunion of the families and the victims affected Rodney, as well as the others. Some of those taken by Nacor and his thugs were barely fifteen years old. Beckett had checked over all the victims; other than a few abrasions and bruises, they were fine. Emotionally was another matter. McKay noticed that the airmen and Marines were gentle and considerate with the victims and their families. Sheppard had taught them well.

Two hours after freeing the villagers, the Atlantians headed for the stargate to travel to Colu. A SGC team waited at the outpost to take possession of Nacor and his team. The Marines escorted the handcuffed kidnappers, and Lorne, as well as Ronon, were keeping their eyes on the pack. The Marines were itching for the kidnappers to try something. They cared little for men who preyed on the innocent.

Once through the gate, the Marines transferred custody of Nacor and his thugs to the SGC. Lorne ordered the Marines and airmen to stand down until further notice. Lorne led Sheppard's team, Major Teldy, Captains' Stackhouse and Isaacs into the Quonset hut that functioned as the command center for the outpost. Jameson was waiting inside the hut for them; Colonel Cameron Mitchell was there as well.

"Hey, guys; have a seat. I hear the intel Jameson collected may have paid off." Mitchell was smiling, but his blue eyes conveyed the seriousness of the situation.

Lorne spoke first, "One of Nacor's men spilled his guts. His name is Densin; he's from a world the Ori destroyed. He joined Nacor when they came to raid his planet, mostly out of self preservation. His information was limited, but we found out something very interesting."

Sitting down, Lorne continued, "Nacor and another slaver had a conversation about Geron that Densin overheard. Geron left the planet for a location he called 'the compound.' He bragged to Nacor that the Alliance was about to get their hands on a huge treasure. Densin said they had been to the planet in question before. It was accessible only by ship; the planet didn't have a stargate. According to Densin, he was told place is where the Lucian Alliance hides out when they are trying to get away from the SGC."

Mitchell, startled, looked at Jameson, "Well, that explains a lot. We wondered where these guys disappear to all the time. Rumors of a hidden location where they could lie low circulated a while back. We've placed surveillance on the stargates when certain important Alliance leaders have gated to planet. At times, they simply vanish; never returning to the gate, but then they show up later, on another planet. This definitely explains a lot; probably, they traveled to the hidden base."

Teyla asked, "You believe this compound could be where they are holding Colonel Sheppard."

Mitchell shook his head, "Yeah, could be; now we just gotta find it."  
McKay had been quiet during the discussion, but he leaned forward at Mitchell's words. "Captain Stackhouse ordered the logs of the slavers' ship downloaded. The logs are on a laptop that Lieutenant Hendriks carries. Stackhouse felt the logs could be investigated for locations where they kidnapped people or sold slaves. If Nacor traveled to the compound at anytime, it most likely will be in recorded the ship's logs, or, at least, in the navcom archives."

Jameson responded, "Dr. McKay; the outpost computers have the database of stargate addresses loaded. Could we cross-reference the slaver ship's logs with that database?" McKay nodded. Rising, he followed Jameson toward a small air-controlled room constructed inside at the back of the Quonset to house the computer system. Lorne left to retrieve the laptop from Hendriks.

An anxious hour passed before McKay, and Jameson, returned. McKay looked quite pleased. "Mitchell; Nacor visited one planet that is not in the stargate catalogue." He opened his laptop, turning it toward Mitchell, "This planet." A star chart was visible on the screen, one of the blips circled in red.

"This is it?" Colonel Mitchell asked, pointing to the red circle.

Jameson replied, "We're certain that this is the planet. Nacor apparently visited often; according to the logs, they were transporting slaves to the compound."

Mitchell scrutinized the star chart, "I think Carter is closer than Ellis or Caldwell." He spun toward the communications console located across the room. "Lieutenant," Mitchell ordered, "get me the General Hammond."

~ooOOOoo~

His ear was twitching; as if it was being tickled. He raised his hand to brush whatever was irritating him away, but the sensation increased. He struggled to shake the feeling, but soon realized that someone was talking to him. Gingerly, he opened his eyes.

"I thought you might sleep the entire journey, colonel."

The cobwebs cleared, and Sheppard saw that Brody was awake. He was sitting on one of the benches that lined the ship's curved hull. Sheppard also noticed the leather bag was now resting on the deck next to Brody's feet.

"Sorry, man, I took a small hit of the pain med. I must have fallen asleep." Sheppard struggled to sit up; he had slouched down in the chair while sleeping. He realized that Brody had draped his leather jacket across him while he was sleeping. He slipped the jacket back on, moving a bit easier than he had earlier. "How you doing?"

"Colonel, I've been better." Pain was evident in his voice.

Sheppard chortled, "Yeah. I hear ya." He swiveled the pilot's seat toward the console, and checked the HUD. "Looks like I was out for about an hour and a half. How long have you been awake?"

"Not quite an hour, I believe. When I came to, I saw that you were asleep. Seeing the med supplies on the console, I pretty much figured why you were napping. Thought I could use a bit of that good stuff myself. Managed to get over there and retrieve the bag. Gave myself a shot; didn't take much, or at least, as much as I wanted to. The burn from the stun setting of that weapon wears off after a few hours. At least, that's what I was told."

Sheppard grunted, "I hope so, still hurts like a son of a bitch."

Brody drank some water from one of the containers Sheppard had found. He then splashed some water onto his face. "So, where are we?"

"We've been traveling for about two and a half hours. I set a heading toward the last coordinates that were in the log. Did both cargo ships arrive at the compound at the same time?"

"Y-yeah…it took both cargo ships to haul all of the equipment and people the Trust sent."

"That's the good news. We should be on the right heading; straight toward a planet with a stargate."

"OK, I'll bite; what's the bad news? No wait, I know; they will expect we'll head there."

Sheppard nodded.

"Well, we'll have to deal with that when we get there; so, when do we get there?"

"Should be a little less than four hours. We should probably try to eat something, then get some rest."

Brody smiled, "Wishing we had some MRE's right about now."

Sheppard laughed softly, "None stuck in the magic bag?"

"Nope; forgot the magic wand, too, colonel."

Brody stood up and began moving around. He was stiff and his gait was a bit off, but he was improving. He sorted out the provisions, managing to come up with a half-way decent assortment of food. Within about ten minutes, the two men were sharing a meal.

"How long have you been with the NID?" Sheppard asked between bites of some kind of dense savory bread.

"About two years, was an active Marine sergeant prior to that, spent a few tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. I was recruited by the SGC and started training for off-world missions. However, not long after I arrived at Cheyenne Mountain, the NID came to recruit for a covert operation to infiltrate the Trust. I was chosen. I was undercover when we thought we had the Trust on the run. Obviously, they are quite resourceful. My cover wasn't blown then, and the Trust recruited me for this little project. I'm pretty good at Ancient tech stuff."

"Natural or synthetic gene?"

Brody smiled, "Natural, sir; but not real strong. They discovered it during routine testing at the SGC. Nothing like yours."

"Ah…my reputation precedes me." Sheppard chuckled, somewhat half-heartedly.

"Let's just say the Trust has a pretty good size file on you. They want Atlantis really badly, sir. All that technology; the ability to travel between galaxies. That kind of power just feeds their already huge, warped egos."

"What was their plan?"

"I don't know all of it. The Trust made contact with the Alliance, working together on some raids throughout the Milky Way. When the Alliance stumbled onto the device you were hooked up to, they came to the Trust. They offered to trade the device for weapons. That's when the plan to take Atlantis was hatched."

"I was brought in to check out the device, but I didn't know they were planning on kidnapping you. I think they didn't expect to have the opportunity to kidnap you fall into their lap so quickly."

"I had a few days leave, and decided to go skiing. Remind me not to do that again."

"Preliminary examination of the device, led us to believe it was a 'dream machine,' as Banks, the project leader, called it. We discovered we could implant a virtual reality into someone, and divert them from realizing that we were probing their minds. They had a Tok'ra memory device as well."

"Read about those in the SGC mission reports." Sheppard remarked.

"Matt Tichtor was the programmer who studied your file. He created a VR for you, based on your family and history. He thought by making you think that you were only dreaming you would be less likely to fight the memory device."

"And spill everything I know about Atlantis."

"That was the idea, colonel."

"You were manipulating the device, weren't you?"

"As best I could, sir. I was lucky that no one else understood the Ancient device, or the Tok'ra memory device, as well as I did. I could control how quickly data was flowing from the Tok'ra device. I was hoping someone would find you, or I could figure out a way to get you out myself. I can tell you, colonel, I may work undercover for the NID, but I am still a Marine. General Landry would kick my ass from here to Paris Island if I didn't try to rescue you."

"Well, you tried, and then tried again, and I thank you for that. No matter what happens."

"Sorry I brought you out so badly the first time. I feel pretty responsible for you getting hurt."

Sheppard shook his head, "Not your fault…you couldn't have known."

"Colonel, I have some questions."

Sheppard turned away, looking at the HUD, checking the course; anything to keep from looking at Brody. He knew what he was going to ask. Sheppard wasn't certain he wanted to think about Isabella now. The fact was, however, Brody deserved to know.

"Ask away."

Really, I have two questions. How did you know my name, and who is she, colonel?" Brody's voice had dropped at least an octave as he asked. He knew he could be traversing on rough ground.

"I'll answer the last question first. I don't really know who she is. I do know that her name is Isabella. You know about the Ascended Ancients." Brody nodded, Sheppard continued. "An Ancient, Teer, I met prior to her ascension, created a dream state for me, as a diversion once when I was being tortured. She introduced me to Isabella in that dream. Later, Teer assured me that Isabella was real, and that I would meet her soon, someday soon."

'Sir, Tichtor didn't program her into the VR. We didn't know she existed. She shouldn't have been there, yet you placed her into the program. That's pretty amazing stuff, colonel. You manipulated a programmed virtual reality."

Sheppard was quiet for a moment, chewing on his lower lip. When he finally spoke, the corner of his mouth curled up slightly, "She's pretty special." He took a deep breath and continued, " The Ascended Ancient wanted to help me again, but she wasn't allowed. She went to Isabella, and somehow managed to bring her to me within the VR. She told me your name and what you were attempting to do. For a brief time, the real Isabella was with me."

"You know, there is a visual component to the device. I think there is an audio as well, but I could never get it work…on purpose. We could see everything from your point of view. She's beautiful, sir."

Silence hung in the air. Sheppard stared out the viewport, eventually he answered, quietly, "Yes, beautiful she is."

Brody busied himself for the next fifteen minutes, cleaning up the empty food containers, and sorting out items in his leather satchel. He left Sheppard to his thoughts. He could tell that the colonel was affected by remembering the beautiful woman from his dreams.

Finally, he spoke. "Colonel, it might be a good idea for us to take a bit more of the pain meds. We have just less than three hours before we reach the planet. I think before we go running around, we might want to have a little relief. We will also have time to get a bit more sleep."

Sheppard smiled, "You remind me of Dr. Carson Beckett; you're a nagging mother hen like he is."

"I told you, sir; I don't want Landry to kick my ass, because I lost one of his colonels. "

"No, don't want that to happen, on both accounts, so pain meds and a nap it is."

~ooOOOoo~

McKay, Beckett, and Teyla sat inside a smaller Quonset hut that served as the mess hall. Ronon was outside sparring with the Marines to pass the time until they heard from the General George Hammond. Beckett had been watching Rodney intently for the last ten minutes.

"Rodney, what is that thingy you're messing with? It looks familiar, like a LSD."

Rodney was examining a device, a flat, rectangular, black box, currently plugged into his laptop. A pale blue glow emanated from a tiny screen set in the flat surface on top.

"It's a device that a team found in an Ancient outpost. We had," he paused a second, "uh…Sheppard activated it. Zelenka's been working on the data we downloaded from it and thinks it's possibly a scanner, a different model from the one we've been using. I just finished programming Sheppard's transponder code into it, and have been fine tuning the sensors. Zelenka thinks the range on this is much more than the 100 meters of the LSD's."

"That's good, Rodney; once we get near John that will help us find him even quicker," Beckett replied.

"Yeah, if we find him." Rodney answered Beckett, somewhat testily.

"Rodney, we will find him."

"Rodney, do we know how long it will take Colonel Carter to reach the planet? I am feeling quite unnecessary right now. There is nothing to do but wait, and it is most unpleasant."

Beckett nodded his head in agreement, "I offered to do medical checks on the outpost personnel while I was here. They looked at me, as if I was a boggart, chuckling as they walked away. Cheeky bastards; I was only trying to help."

Teyla smiled. "I do not know what a 'boggart' is; however, I think most military do not like medical exams."

Rodney appeared totally disinterested in their conversation, but interrupted to answer Teyla's question. "Landry and Mitchell realized that the three leads Jameson uncovered were all in the same general vicinity. Based on that, Landry ordered the Hammond to head for the area. Sam was already underway to the area when we found the reference to the planet in Nacor's logs. She should get to the planet in less than two hours."

"Then we will soon know if John is on that planet. Dr. Beckett, let us take a walk; the town is not far from here. Perhaps we can check on your patients from earlier in the day, and make ourselves useful." Standing up, Beckett following her lead, Teyla asked Rodney, "Would you care to join us?"

The scientist, engrossed in his laptop, gave a brisk wave of his hand and quick wag of his head, indicating no. Rodney wanted to run a diagnostic on the Ancient scanner device. If they needed it, he wanted it to be ready.

~ooOOOoo~

Geron was pacing the bridge of the Ha'tak, as he had been for the past hour. Nera was watching him with amusement; she had never liked the egotistical man or his lap dog, Dresa. She glanced over at the tall woman with the unusual eyes and wondered how Geron would react if she simply killed his pet. She had dealings with both Geron and Dresa before, and she had a score to settle. However, for the moment, there was a bigger prize at stake. She had been in on the plan to steal Atlantis from the beginning; Geron was just a tool to accomplish the mission. His distress at losing their link to the prize was great satisfaction for her.

"Geron, have a seat or leave; I am tired of your pacing." Her voice was razor sharp.

Geron turned toward her, glaring at the woman sitting in the command chair. Confident, she sat ramrod straight, her glossy, dark red hair platted down her back, her brown leather uniform fitting as though it was poured over her. Walking to the command platform, he sneered, "You believe yourself to be so superior to me, don't you?"

She laughed, "It isn't difficult, Geron; you always give me such reason to think so. Really, a man drugged, connected to machinery, and surrounded by your guards, escapes, steals a cargo ship and leaves the planet. How many of your guards died? I believe the number was six, seven. Killed by two men; your elite guards lying in their own blood. Yes, when the council hears of this, I believe you might be in danger of losing your status as the 'enforcer' within the Alliance."

"Nera, we knew that this Tau'ri was resourceful, smart; it was the Trust that we underestimated. We didn't expect Sheppard to have an accomplice. We thought an attack could come from outside the compound, not inside. None of us, not even the council, considered that occurring. Nera put aside your petty anger at me. I have beaten you too many times at your foolish games; I am not concerned with your taunts. We need to concentrate on retrieving Sheppard."

Nera felt her blood begin to seethe within her veins; she rose from the command chair, stepping down to stare Geron in the eye. "Geron, when this is over, I prom…"

She was interrupted by the navigator, "Commander Nera. The Tel'tak has appeared on our sensors. The ship is cloaked, but the tracking device Cronet developed is working. The tracking device frequency is not being masked by the cloak. The ship is minutes from the planet's atmosphere."

"Can you get a weapons lock on the ship?"

"Yes, commander."

"Disable that ship. Do not destroy it, or I will have your head." Nera's eyes narrowed as she intently watched the sensor display. Her interest focused solely on the small blip representing the cargo ship, quickly dropping toward the planet.

~ooOOOoo~

Inside the Tel'tak, Sheppard was piloting the vessel toward the planet. Following the coordinates in the navcom, he hoped to land the ship in the same place it had departed from. More, he was hoping that the landing site was close to the stargate.

Brody walked up behind him, peering out the viewport. Sheppard had angled the ship for re-entry, and a soft amber glow was building outside the window.

'We're getting close, Sheppard. With any luck, we'll be at the SGC in time for dinner."

"If I can land this thing in one piece."

"Hey, doing OK in my bo….." Brody's reply was cut short by the impact of an energy weapon, striking the ship. As the ship reeled from the blow, Brody careened thought the air, slamming into the cargo bay doors.

"Brody, you OK?" Sheppard was gripping the steering ball, trying to keep the ship from tumbling.

Groaning Brody struggled to his feet, grabbing his arm. He answered Sheppard, "Yeah...I'm OK. What the hell happened?"

"We got hit by some kind of energy blast." Glancing at the HUD, he saw the blip, the blip of a very large ship. "They found us. There's a large ship coming straight toward us; it fired on the engines, to disable them."

"We're cloaked; how the hell did they see us?" Brody yelled over the din.

Sheppard wrestled with the ship for a moment as a screaming roar came from the engines. "I don't know, but they succeeded. We're losing power. I can't keep her steady."

Brody just made it back to the cockpit when another blast hit the ship. He grabbed the pilot's seat, holding on to keep from flying across the room again.

"It has to be a Ha'tak; there must have been one close by that Geron called for. Can you get us down?"

"I don't know. The last shot took out navigation and knocked us off course. Brody, go find something to hang on to. We are coming in hot, and I can't stop it. We're gonna crash."

"Colonel, the escape pods," Brody yelled over the din of the screaming engines, fighting to gain power.

"No time, find something to grab onto."

Brody headed for the center control console, ducking underneath, and wrapping around the pedestal. He kept his head up to watch Sheppard.

Sheppard was wrestling with the controls, but the ship seemed to gaining speed not slowing down. The screaming from the engines stopped, as Sheppard cut the engines, trying to allow atmospheric friction to slow them and hopefully, glide to a stop. A few seconds later, Sheppard's realize that gliding was not an option.

"Brody, we're going in; brace yourself."

Within seconds, the Tel'tak struck the ground with a tremendous impact. The ship skidded swiftly across the terrain, throwing Sheppard from the pilot's chair. They had landed on the night side of the planet, and he couldn't tell what the terrain was like. Now he could feel it; the ship was striking what Sheppard thought might be boulders, or possibly, structures. The lights were flickering wildly, then went out. He felt the ship' forward motion slow slightly; they were sliding more than bouncing. He waited for another impact, and it came, but not the way he expected. The ship began to drop again. Holding on as best he could, Sheppard whispered, "Crap," realizing they had most likely, slid off of a cliff. After what seemed to be an eternity, the ship impacted the ground with a tremendous jolt. As he lost consciousness, Sheppard saw the structure of the Tel'tak begin to buckle, then nothing but blackness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for continuing to read Remember Atlantis....
> 
> I would really love to hear from you...
> 
> Thanks!


	8. Caught

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Colonel John Sheppard wakes up after suffering a serious injury to find the memories he holds aren't real. Or are they? Now, he has to determine which reality is really his.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Word Count: Chapter 8: 5,681  
> Spoilers: No blatant spoilers…some mention of events related to Stargate overall.  
> Warnings: Language   
> Disclaimer: I do not own them; I would have treated them better.
> 
> Author's Notes: When we left Sheppard and Brody, the Tel'tak they had stolen had just been shot down by the Lucian Alliance. Did they survive the crash?

REMEMBER ATLANTIS

By stella_pegasi

 

Chapter 8 Caught

It was eerily quiet. A cold wind drifted into the interior of the Tel'tak from cracks in the fuselage. Faint moonlight, spilling through the viewport, illuminated the broken interior of the ship.

As Sheppard slowly regained consciousness, pain began to seep across his body. He raised his head, peering around the cabin. The initial impact had thrown him across the deck, entangling him in the metal bench supports. Gingerly, he attempted to move, but felt searing pain in his left side, where the ribs were already broken. Pushing himself upright using his left arm was out of the question. He needed to roll onto his back to obtain leverage in order to stand.

The pain in his side snatched his breath away, but Sheppard succeeded in pivoting onto his back. He laid still, his chest heaving, and endeavored to slow his breathing and his heart rate. Biting his lip to keep from screaming out, he shifted his body, tugging his left ankle from behind a bent strut, and managed to sit up. Warm blood immediately started flowing across his face from a large gash on his forehead. The thick flow trickled between his lips; the coppery taste on his tongue.

"Well, John, you need to get on your feet." He muttered quietly to himself, as if he could simply convince himself to rise. He considered that a cattle-prod might prove more effective motivation. "OK, John, get your ass up." Pushing off against the deck with his right arm, he managed to rise up enough to sit on the bench behind him. As he tried to breathe through the pain, he became aware of acute pain radiating from his back. His lower back felt as if Ronon had struck him, full-force, with a Bantos rod.

"Well, that can't be good," he uttered, while trying to take deep even breaths. He was concentrating on his breathing so intently that he almost didn't hear the low voice coming from the center of the cabin.

"Doubt…m-much good."

Sheppard's heart fluttered for a brief second, "Brody, Brody, where are you…" He forced himself from the bench, heading toward the center of the cabin where he thought Brody's voice came from.

"H-here…"

In the pale light, Sheppard could barely make out a boot-covered foot underneath a large pile of debris. The hull buckled during the crash, sending the cargo-bay doors spilling over Brody's body. He knew there was no way he could manipulate the heavy debris away from the NID agent.

"Find m-me…yet?"

"Yeah, I see your boots, coming around the other way." Sheppard kept steady by leaning on the debris. Carefully, he picked his way through the rubble, making it to where he thought Brody's head was located. He grabbed onto a stable piece of wreckage, and slowly, painfully, dropped to his right knee. Leaning down a bit, he could see Brody's right arm and head.

"How bad are you hurt, Brody?"

"Not too b-bad, just trapped. Sheppard?"

"Yeah."

"You need to…work on your landings."

Sheppard dropped his head, trying not to laugh, mostly because he knew it would make his ribs hurt. "Yeah, I've been told that before." He slid down onto the deck, sitting in a small area that was free of debris.

"Can you tell what's pinning you?"

"I'm not pinned, colonel; just trapped. I tried to slide out, but there's junk in the way."

"These big doors aren't laying on you?"

"Nope, I had grabbed on to the control console," he paused, taking a deep breath. "The doors fell onto the console, which collapsed some, but not enough to pin me."

"Any injuries?"

"Cut up…banged up, lots of stuff hit me. My left ankle hurts, but I can move it…not broken. Got a hell of a g-gash on my head, but it's not bleeding anymore. Well…not much anyway. How 'bout you, sir."

"I'm fine. Let me see if I can get you out of here."

As Sheppard started to pull debris away, Brody reached out his hand and stopped him. "Colonel, since you can move, you need to get out of here. They will have tracked the ship as it came down. I doubt you have much time."

"I'm not leaving without you, Brody." He began to pull away debris that appeared to be blocking Brody's exit. After a few minutes, there was a clear path for Brody to escape. It was then, that they heard the sound of a ship overhead.

"What was that?" Brody asked.

"I think that might have been a death glider. Major Lorne once explained what sort of noise a glider's engines generated; that sounded exactly like what he described."

"Told you, colonel; the Alliance has gliders. You need to go, now."

Sheppard ignored Brody's comment. Resting against the debris, he wearily rubbed his eyes, sighing deeply. They needed a plan; after a moment, he could only think of one.

"You're dead, Brody." He began to replace the debris into the opening he just cleared.

"Dead….uh…I'm still breathing." Brody's voice betrayed his confusion.

"Yeah, well, we don't have time to get away. The only way I know that one of us is going to get away is for me to get captured, and you to play dead. We need to make it look like these doors crushed you."

"Colonel, they'll kill you."

"No, they won't; they need information. I'm not in danger of dying until I break, and I have no intention of doing that. Besides, if they are going to mount some kind of attack on Atlantis, they are going to need me and the gene. I'll be safe for a while."

"Colonel, I r-really don't like this plan."

"Consider it an order, Marine." Sheppard's voice was steady and definitive.

"Understood, sir."

Another ship flew over, "We don't have l-long, Brody. Once we're gone from here, you should be able to kick your way out though the hole I cleared. How much blood on your face from your head wound?"

"A lot, sir, but why?"

"Hang on." Sheppard struggled to his feet, pushing the pain from his consciousness as best he could. He made his way around to the bench where he had been when he woke up. Kneeling down, he felt around the floor until he found what he was looking for…the pool of blood from his own head wound. He scooped up a fist full of sticky blood, and labored to stand up.

Back at the opening, he pulled back some debris and reached in with his bloody hand. "Can you reach me?" Brody moved his hand, and found Sheppard's.

Sheppard's voice was strained from leaning in, to reach Brody. "Smear this… over your face and neck. The bloodier you look the more likely they'll believe you're dead."

"A chancy p-plan at best, colonel, but clever, I must say. If we can…pull this off, I can contact the SGC and get reinforcements."

"That's the idea, sergeant." Sheppard realized he had used Brody's rank for the first time, an indication this had transformed from a rescue mission to an ops mission in his mind.

While Brody spread the excess blood over his face and neck, Sheppard stood up and began to slide other pieces of debris into the clear area.

"Let's hope when the Alliance arrives, it will still be dark, and they won't look at you too closely. Do you have your weapon?

Brody checked, 'Yeah, I do. Y-you don't see my leather bag, do you?"

Sheppard looked around, but in the dim light he couldn't see the satchel. "No, too dark; listen, take my weapon. They'll just take it away from me, and I doubt I'll be able to take them all out." He pushed the Sig through a small opening near Brody's hand. Brody grabbed the weapon, and tucked it underneath him.

"There's a knife in my right boot, colonel…take it. They might not search you that closely…arrogant bunch…t-think they always have the upper hand."

Sheppard smiled slightly, as he crept through the debris toward Brody's boot. "Remind me to introduce you to a member of my team…when we get out of this." He bent over gingerly and, sliding his long fingers into the top of Brody's boot, he pulled out a thin knife. He slipped the knife into his own boot. Straightening up with a deep groan, he continued, "Ronon would like you."

Brody's reply was lost in the noise of a larger ship almost directly above them. The engines whined as the ship decelerated. Sheppard began to move toward the bench, in order to divert attention away from Brody when the Alliance arrived. He was nearly there when the ship's engines quieted, the Lucian Alliance had landed.

"Brody, be a good boy and play dead."

"Yes, sir; colonel, I'll escape and get help. We'll find you; I promise."

"I know you will, Brody; I know."

~ooOOOoo~

Colonel Samantha Carter was pacing the bridge deck. An update on the ops currently happening on the planet was overdue, and she was becoming impatient.

The General George Hammond arrived at the gateless planet, and the Lucian Alliance outpost, roughly an hour before. Scans for Sheppard's transponder signal had proven fruitless; the colonel was not on the planet. With that fact established, Carter ordered Major Tom Hawkyns, head of her Marine SO contingent, to storm the compound. Once on the ground, the Marines confirmed that Sheppard had been there, but had escaped.

Her com cackled in her ear, startling her from her pacing. Major Hawkyns was ready to brief her on the situation on the planet. Giving the order to beam the major to the ship, Carter waited as he materialized on the bridge.

"Colonel Carter, we have secured the facility with one minor injury. There was only a handful of Alliance guards, several members of the Trust, and a lot of servants inside the compound. The servants quickly informed us that they had been kidnapped, and brought to the compound to work.

"So that explains why the slave trader made numerous trips here. He was providing them with 'hired' help. What information did you discover from the Trust operatives? Do they have any idea where Colonel Sheppard is?"

"It seems the Lucian Alliance leader, Geron, killed the leader of the Trust personnel, a guy named Banks. He took Colonel Sheppard's escape personally, and killed Banks as an example. Then he had Bank's second in command, a guy named Tichtor, beaten. I had Tichtor beamed to the ship's infirmary; he took a really severe beating. The Trust had a doctor here to look after Sheppard, but he apparently isn't much of doctor. He didn't seem interested in treating Tichtor."

"Geron is not on the planet?" Carter asked.

No, ma'am. One of the servants said Geron sent for another ship, and left the planet a few hours later with a woman named Dresa and his elite guards."

"Any clue how Sheppard got away, major?"

"The colonel had help, ma'am. The Trust sedated him and hooked him up to a Tok'ra memory device and to some kind of Ancient machine. Brody Myles is the name of the tech monitoring the Ancient device, and the one who helped Sheppard escape. According to one of the 'servants', apparently they killed a guard when they broke out of the compound, then killed more guards when they stole one of the ships."

Carter smiled, "Stole a ship, sounds like something Colonel Sheppard would do. You said one of the ships, there was another, major?"

"Yes, ma'am, there was a second ship, but apparently the colonel blew it up. The blast destroyed the cockpit and control console. According to Lieutenant Packer, they found two grenade pins outside the hatch."

"Thank you, major. I want you to return to the surface, let's get the names and home worlds of the kidnap victims to forward to the SGC. I would like to get them home as soon as possible. Also, continue working on the Trust members and the servants to find out as much information as you can. We can assume that Sheppard will head for a stargate in order to return to the SGC. Let's see if we can find out what direction he might have taken."

"Captain Dawes, beam the major back to the surface, then get Colonel Mitchell for me."

~ooOOOoo~

The Lucian Alliance squad was not quiet, as they pried open the hatch on the Tel'tak and entered the wrecked ship. Carrying bright spotlights with them, they made short work of finding Sheppard in the rubble.

"Over here, the Tau'ri appears alive."

With several weapons aimed at him, Sheppard made no moves as the Alliance operatives advanced toward his location. Within seconds, the men were pulling away the debris he had pulled over his body just before they arrived.

The apparent leader of the squad was a short, broad man who looked decidedly satisfied. "Nera will be pleased that the Tau'ri soldier is alive. Get him uncovered and out of here."

Sheppard was manhandled as they cleared the rubble and pulled him to his feet. He didn't need to fake the scream of pain as they forced him upright. Between the severe burning his back and ribs, he was in intense agony. He had planned on acting as if he couldn't stand, but in truth, he couldn't.

"He is hurt, Clava; apparently, he cannot walk."

"Then carry him, but first…" he walked over to Sheppard. "Where is the other man?"

"D-dead," Sheppard answered with difficulty.

"Look for him; I want to make certain that traitor is dead."

Two of the Alliance men began searching the cluttered deck. Sheppard was holding his breath. Only a couple of minutes passed before one of the men yelled that he had found Brody.

"He looks dead. He's covered with a lot of blood, and he's pinned under those huge doors. He's not going anywhere."

"Shoot him, just to make certain. Nera has no need for him," Clava ordered.

Sheppard acted quickly. He began to struggle with his captors, managing to knock one of them into a pile of rubble. He almost managed to get away from the other man holding him, when the two men who had been searching for Brody, came to the man's assistance.

Clava's voice was angry as he said, "Pick Sheppard up, get him out of here. If the other one isn't dead, he soon will be." As they began to carry Sheppard out, Clava uttered to one of the men, "Let's get this one to Nera before she becomes impatient."  
~ooOOOoo~

The Alliance squad departed from the ship, carrying Sheppard. Everything was deathly quiet until the roar of engines signaled that the Alliance ship had taken off. Waiting a few more minutes, before he decided to move, Brody concentrated on breathing again. He had expected to be dead after Clava's orders, but Sheppard's quick thinking to divert the thugs, saved him. Now he needed to get out of the ship, and figure out how to repay the debt. At least, he had a clue to start. Neva was well known to the NID and the SGC. He began to remove the debris that Sheppard had placed in his escape path so that he could start looking for the stargate.

~ooOOOoo~

"He escaped, Sam? Well, where the hell is he, why haven't we heard from him?" Rodney hadn't give Mitchell or anyone else a chance to react to Carter's news.

Mitchell turned to Rodney, "McKay, calm down. Let's get the details, then we'll figure this out." He turned back to the screen. "Go ahead, Sam."

"We believe that the Trust operative, who was monitoring Sheppard and Ancient device, helped him escape. They made it to the ships, and managed to get off the planet."

Mitchell interrupted her, "Ships…there was more than one?"

Carter smiled, "I know what you are thinking. However, Sheppard managed to get hold of some explosives. He took the second ship out of play; with both the control console and the cockpit taken out, the navcom data and logs were destroyed."

Smiling, Mitchell shook his head, "That's my, boy. He doesn't miss a trick, does he?"

"No, Cam, he doesn't. Do you guys have any thoughts as to where Sheppard could have gone?"

Mitchell turned to McKay. "Dr. McKay, you've been over the logs of the slaver ship. Any ideas where we could look?"

"No, I don't; there are a lot of entries in the slaver ship's log. It would take weeks to explore all of them." McKay looked dejected.

Turning back to the vid screen, Mitchell asked, "Sam, any thoughts?"

"Major Hawkyns is planet-side right now, interrogating the Alliance and Trust operatives, trying to determine the location where Sheppard might be headed. We could assume it would be the closest planet with a stargate, but there is no guarantee. Lt. Tobias is going over the local area charts to see what planets have stargates."

Mitchell interjected, "Nacor, the slave trader is still on Colu; I held up his transfer, in case we had need for him. I'll have another chat with him to see if he will give up any likely planets."

"Cam, I am going to stay here for the time being; if for no other reason than the fact that Geron may return. Besides, we need to recover the piece of Ancient tech they were using on Sheppard. I haven't beamed down to the outpost yet, but I will shortly; I want to take a look at the console. From the video that Hawkyns' team sent back, I believe the apparatus is a portable version of the VR device in the stasis pods we seen before."

"Good idea, Sam, but stay in touch. Mitchell out." Sam nodded as the vidscreen went blank.

Ronon, who had been silent for most of the time they had been on Colu, asked, "What now, Mitchell?"

Mitchell frowned, "Now, Ronon, we look for a colonel in a haystack."

~ooOOOoo~

By the time Brody shoved his way out of his 'tomb', the sky had turned a light gray-pink. Clearing the last large piece of rubble, he straightened up, gazing around the destroyed Tel'tak. He was amazed that they survived the crash. He mumbled softly to himself, "Maybe I shouldn't have kidded the colonel about his landing." He was pretty certain with any other pilot, they wouldn't have walked away.

He tugged the sig from inside his shirt, tucking it into his waistband. He needed his satchel; he had more ammo in it, and, more importantly, the med kit. He had no idea what the terrain was like outside of the crushed ship, or how far he had to trek to the stargate. The throbbing pain in his ankle was making a serious nuisance of itself. Brody decided he might need a bit of courage in the form of a nice pain-killer.

Brody was extremely frustrated. He was about to give up searching, thinking the satchel might have been thrown from the wreckage, when he spotted a thin strip of leather protruding from under a twisted piece of metal.

As he dragged the metal debris away, he swore, "About fucking time." He snatched the bag up, and sat down on one of the benches. Pulling out the med kit, he was thankful to find it intact. He made quick work of taking a shot of a small amount of medicine. While he was waiting for the med to take effect, he spotted one of the thin blankets, Sheppard had found, what now seemed to be an eternity ago. Brody grabbed the blanket, and pulled a small knife from the satchel. Cutting a few long thin pieces of fabric, he figured he could bind his ankle with the fabric strips, if it proved as weak as he feared.

Brody began to feel a bit less pain, and knew it was time to move. He tossed a couple of the food items and two water containers he found when he was rummaging, into his satchel. Carefully, he made his way to the partially opened hatch, slowly slipping his head out. After a few seconds, when his head remained intact, he decided the coast was clear, and he exited the ship.

The sun was just glinting over the horizon. He stood for a few minutes trying to get his bearings, and taking several much needed deep breaths. Dust and the acrid smell of scorched metal saturated the interior of the Tel'tak, and breathing had been difficult inside the wreckage. The ship had come to a halt on a small plateau, at an elevation of about 100 meters. Brody could still see the footprint of the Alliance ship that had taken Sheppard away in the open area along side the crashed ship.

Looking up, he spotted the cliff, they must have taken a nose-dive from. Behind the ship was a rugged rock mountain ridge, they must have struck that first, slid across the ridge and then right off the edge. The drop was enormous and, again, Brody was thankful they survived.

To the east, toward the emerging sunrise, was a large valley. Brody could make out what appeared to be cultivated fields, as well as some small structures. Taking another deep breath, he started down the rocky slope. He had one singular purpose, to get help to find Colonel Sheppard.

~ooOOOoo~

Sheppard was lying exactly where he had fallen. He was blindfolded; his torso on fire from his arms being secured behind his back, his chest muscles pulling taut across his broken ribs. He had reached the tolerance of his pain, but somehow pushed through it, striving to keep his head clear.

The guards carried him out of the transport, then roughly put him on his feet. He forced himself to walk, thinking the guards wouldn't be pleased about having to carry him. The guards marched him quite a distance before jerking him to a halt. Hearing the swoosh of a door, he was roughly shoved through an opening, falling to the floor. His head hit the floor with a resounding crack, and he blacked out for a second. At that point, he decided he wasn't moving a muscle again, ever.

Sheppard was certain he heard engines engage at some point. He deduced he must be on a good sized ship, a Ha'tak; most likely, the ship that shot them down. The thug who took him from the ship mentioned the name Nera, so he imagined Nera must be the commander of the Ha'tak. Recalling the SG mission reports he had read, he didn't remember her name mentioned, but his head was so muddled, he couldn't think clearly.

The swooshing sound of the doors opening startled him. A loud voice reverberated in his aching head.

"Untie him and get that blindfold off of him."

Rough hands rolled him onto his stomach, causing him to cry out from the pain in his side. A guard unfastened the leather cuff restraints and searing pain shot through his arms and shoulders from the muscles contracting. Other hands pulled the blindfold from his eyes and he was momentarily blinding by the glaring light in the room.

The same loud voice from earlier, spoke again, "Medic, Nera said you were to treat his wounds. We will wait outside, in case he becomes unruly."

Another, more assertive, voice spoke, "Could you please place him onto the resting bench? It will be decidedly easier for me to treat him if he is more accessible, rather than lying on the deck."

Once again, harsh hands grasped Sheppard, lifting him off the deck. He groaned intensely as one of the guard's hands compressed his ribs. The medic, with considerably more authoritative tone in his voice than before, admonished the guards, "You are being too rough with him, you fools. Nera needs him healthy; if you allow him to die, it is your head she will want."

The guards' grip eased somewhat, and Sheppard sensed a soft surface beneath him as they laid him on the bench. Without the pressure of hard edges pushing against his body, Sheppard was able to breathe a bit easier. He refused to open his eyes; the brightness penetrating his closed eyelids was making him nauseous; he had no desire to make it worse.

"Colonel Sheppard, are you awake."

The voice belonged to the person the guard referred to as 'medic', Sheppard muttered, "Who's a-asking?"

"I am Jarva Pacur, chief medicus for Commander Nera. She has asked me to treat your wounds. Open your eyes for me, colonel."

Sheppard shook his head; he wasn't going to open his eyes for anyone at that moment. "No, head hurts."

He heard the rustling of fabric and footsteps, then the bright glow in his eyes dimmed considerably. Jarva then spoke again.

"I've turned the lights down, now open your eyes."

Sheppard complied, gingerly, opening his eyes only as far as narrow slits. Realizing that the light was indeed dimmer, he opened them completely. Sitting in a chair next to the bench was a slight, balding middle aged man staring down at him.

"Let's take a look at you. Sit up for me; you need to take off that coat."

Jarva helped Sheppard to rise to a sitting position, and remove his leather jacket; Jarva then unbuttoned his shirt, and pulled up his t-shirt. Sheppard held his breath, bracing for a rough examination. He was greatly surprised that the man's touch was gentle.

"You have some very bad bruises and, apparently, at least two broken ribs. Is that where most of your pain is located?"

"Yeah."

"These ribs have some kind of covering along them. What is this?"

"T-tape, placed over the broken rib."

"Well, this is quite inadequate. I will get bandages and wrap this properly."

"No, w-wrapping all the way around can r-restrict breathing, just need more tape on ribs."

Jarva looked intently at Sheppard. "This is a new way?" Sheppard nodded. Jarva rose, walked to the door, opening it. Sheppard heard him speaking quietly to someone.

When he returned, he examined the laceration on Sheppard's forehead. "You banged your head during the crash? This isn't too bad. I'll apply some gelsut on it. It will close right up."

He wiped the dried blood from the wound, and then reached in his bag for a metal cylinder. The cylinder contained a light green gel which he began to apply to the wound. While he was applying the gel, the door opened and one of the guards handed him a role of what appeared to be tape. When he finished applying the gel, he began to re-tape Sheppard's broken ribs, following directions from the injured man.

"Listen, why is Nera, that's her name, right?" Jarva confirmed with a nod, and Sheppard continued, "Why is she having you treat me."

"I'd like to say she is a kind person, colonel, but she is ruthless. She wants you to survive for whatever purpose she plans to use you for."

"Yeah, well…that's what I figured." He shivered, the room was quite cold.

"Let me help you get dressed, colonel. I will have blankets brought to you, and I will also have them bring you some broth. You need to eat something. In the meantime, drink this," he pulled a bottle filled with red liquid from his bag. "It is full of nutrients and take these; they will help with the pain." He handed the bottle and two pills to him. After Sheppard took the pills, he helped him re-dress, then lie down.

Jarva picked up his bag and moved toward the door. "Colonel, once you eat something, please get some rest. I don't know what interest Nera has in you, but she is dangerous, especially when she wants something. She retained me to keep people alive until she no longer needs them. Make certain she continues to need you, if you want to stay alive."

The door closed and Sheppard was alone. He drank the rest of the nutrient fluid which tasted surprising good, then closed his eyes. Sleep crept over him as he wondered how he could keep Nera interested enough to keep him alive.

~ooOOOoo~

Sergeant Brody Myles was sitting in the cab of what he would only describe as a model-t truck on concrete tires. He could feel every rattle and jolt as the vehicle bounced across the compressed rock road. It had been four hours since he left the crashed ship, and he was on his way to the stargate, at last.

He had been fortunate. The trek from the crash site down the side of the mountain was treacherous, made doubly so by his bum ankle. He wasn't a hundred percent sure it wasn't a bit broken. He had stopped a few times on the descent. Once to wrap the ankle with the cloth strips, once to pop more pain meds, and once just to swear as loudly as he could because it made him feel better.

By the time he arrived on level ground, he was telling himself that he was moving to Kansas when he retired, he never wanted to see another mountain as long as he lived. He headed in the direction of the fields and structures he had seen from the ridge.

The sun had quickly risen and then hidden behind low, heavy dark grey clouds rolling in from the west. Snow clouds, he thought, just what he needed. He kept walking, eventually finding a roadway made of hard gravel. The surface was relatively smooth, and easier for him to walk on than the uneven ground. He had found a broken tree limb the right length to use as a cane, which was helping him walk faster. Finally, he felt like he was making progress.

The road took a gentle curve around a grove of trees. He rounded the curve and saw a group of men coming toward him. As he got closer, he saw that some wore the forehead insignia of the Jaffa, others did not. Two of the men ran forward when they realized he was injured

A tall, broad shouldered man asked, "You came from the crash?"

Brody nodded, "Yes, I was on the ship that crashed. I need your help. I need to get to the stargate, the chappa'ko." He had noted the Jaffa insignia on the man's forehead.

"We headed to the crash site to provide assistance once the sun rose. We waited until daylight, as no one witnessed where the ship came down. Are there any other survivors?"

Brody replied quietly, "No."

"Then come, I am Lec'a and my home is nearby. First, you must allow us to tend to your wounds, and provide you with nourishment. We will then take you to the 'stargate'."

They continued on for another ten minutes until they came to a small home sitting in a grove of trees, along side cultivated fields that had been recently harvested. Smoke curled from a chimney at the rear of the house. As they stepped onto the porch, the door opened revealing a young girl about twelve years old. When she saw Brody, blood covering his face, her eyes widened, and she turned running down a long hallway, yelling for her mother. A woman emerged from a back room. She quieted her daughter, and sent her through the door into the room she had just exited.

Taking one look at Brody, she motioned for him to come inside. "You, you came from the crash?"

He nodded and she looked at her husband, the question evident on her face. Lec'a answered, "There were no other survivors." She led Brody to the kitchen, having him sit a large rustic table, laden with remnants of the morning meal.

Most of Lec'a's companions had left, save one, an older burly man who eyed Brody with a distrustful look on his face. "You…are you Lucian Alliance?"

"No, I'm not. I am a Tau'ri and I was captured by the Alliance. We escaped, my companion died in the crash. I just need to get home."

The older man wasn't convinced, "Do not lie to me."

Brody sighed, "I'm not lying. I just desire to go home."

Lec'a's wife returned with a basin of water, clean towels, and bandages. "Leave him be; let me tend to his wounds, then you can talk."

As Brody sat in the cab of the truck, bouncing toward the town, he reflected on the kindness of Lec'a and his family. They, like many in the galaxy, had been relieved when the Goa'uld had been defeated. The Tau'ri had provided tretonin for the Jaffa to survive and for once, they thought they could lead normal lives. Then the Ori invaded the galaxy, and once they were defeated, the Lucian Alliance took their place. They were managing to co-exist with the Alliance. At least, the Alliance left them alone, as long as they didn't interfere with the Alliance treachery. Brody was fairly certain that would change when these good people decided they had been repressed enough.

The truck, driven by the burly man, came to an abrupt halt, jolting him from his thoughts. Further down the road, Brody could see the outskirts of the large town. Lec'a was riding in the truck bed with sacks of grain they were bringing to town to sell. He jumped out of the truck bed and opened the passenger door.

"The stargate is about thirty meters down that path, follow me."

They walked in silence. As the narrow path began to widen, Brody spotted the stargate and relief flooded his body. Soon, he could get help for Sheppard.

Despite his injured ankle, he jogged to the DHD. Before he dialed Earth, he turned to Lec'a. "I thank you and your family for helping me. I will find a way to repay you for your kindness."

"There is no need for repayment. We are pleased you are safe."

The two men grasped forearms, then Brody dialed the gate. A slight smile crossed his face as the event horizon settled. As he stepped through the gate, he thought, 'Hang on Sheppard, the cavalry's coming."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to expand the story a bit, so there will most likely be another chapter or possibly two. Next installment should be up in a few days.
> 
> I would love to hear from you!


	9. Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Colonel John Sheppard wakes up after suffering a serious injury to find the memories he holds aren’t real. Or are they? Now, he has to determine which reality is really his.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Word Count: Chapter 9: 5,164  
> Spoilers: No blatant spoilers…some mention of events related to Stargate overall.  
> Warnings: Language  
> Disclaimer: I do not own them; I would have treated them better.  
> Author’s Notes: Sheppard and Brody survived but Sheppard is back in the clutches of the Lucian Alliance and the SGC has no idea where he is.

Chapter 9 Plans

 

Master Sergeant Walter Harriman had just refreshed his constant cup of coffee, and returned to his chair in the control room. Since he reported to duty, he thought, despite the uneasiness at the SGC over Colonel Sheppard’s disappearance, the morning had been extremely dull. General Landry had been lurking in the control room, fending calls from O’Neill. He stopped counting how many times Landry had repeated, “There’s no new information, Jack” to General O’Neill. Walter knew that both men were more concerned about Colonel Sheppard than their professionalism would allow them to display.

SG-17 was cleared to gate to MX9-247 for recon. Increased Lucian Alliance activity had been reported on the planet during the last few weeks. Lined up with his team at the base of the ramp, Major Lewis motioned for Walter to dial the gate. The master sergeant initiated the sequence, but before the gate could begin the dialing sequence, the chevrons activated. Walter closed the iris, hit the alarm, and announced the unauthorized gate activation, which brought General Landry running into the control room.

“Walter, what do we have; any IDC yet?”

“Don’t know yet, sir.” Walter was watching the monitor for an IDC. When one popped up, it wasn’t the IDC that they were hoping for.

Sir, I have an IDC that is assigned to the NID for covert operatives.”

“Open the iris.”

A hobbling NID agent/Marine Sergeant Brody Myles emerged from the event horizon, hands elevated above his head. Major Lewis ordered the Marines, holding their weapons’ locked in defensive positions, to stand down. He turned toward the control room.

“General Landry, I recognize him. It’s Sergeant Brody Myles; he’s an undercover agent with the NID.”

Brody gripped the railing about mid-ramp and looked toward the control room. “General Landry; I know who kidnapped Colonel Sheppard.”

~ooOOOoo~

Rough hands jostled him awake. Sheppard struggled to consciousness, groggy from the abrupt awakening; unsure how long he had been asleep. A powerful hand grabbed his arm and pulled him to his feet, the movement confirming the pain meds had worn off.

“Hey, not…so fast,” he complained, knowing they were hardly going to listen to him.

“Move it, she wants to see you now.” A second guard roughly grabbed his other arm. He was dragged from the chamber down a long corridor to a transporter.

Nera was waiting for him on the Pel’tac. The guards dropped him unceremoniously at the foot of the platform chair where she sat to command the vessel. When he didn’t rise, she stood up.

“Get up, Tau’ri,” her voice, cold and menacing.

Sheppard very quietly replied, “No, I’m good; I’ll just…stay here.”

Anger flared across Nera’s face, and she descended the platform, unhurriedly walking around the prone Sheppard. “You are impudent, aren’t you? Normally, I would find you quite enticing, but that attitude. We're going to have to change that first.” She stopped behind him. “Whatever am I going to do with you?”

“Let me go?” He sought to keep the tremor in his voice from the pain under control.

Her reply was a hard kick to the center of his back. As he withered in agony, he was happy she hadn’t kicked him in the lower back. He grunted out, “So, not…g-gonna…let me…go?” She responded by kicking him in the shoulder, then she kneeled next to him.

“You can play hero all you like, but it won’t work on me. I have broken many men who underestimated me. You will tell me how to get onto Atlantis. The city will belong to the Lucian Alliance very soon.”

Sheppard rolled over, looking Nera in the eye. “No, won’t…tell you a-anything.”

She sneered, Sheppard thinking how much she resembled a Wraith queen as her lips curled. He ceased thinking anything, other than he was in pain, after she booted him in his right side. He was relieved when he heard her footsteps walking away from him.

“Geron,” Sheppard heard her voice floating over the pounding in his head. He lifted his head slightly, opening his eyes to catch a glimpse of the Alliance commander as he approached. Geron halted next to Sheppard’s feet.

“Are you done playing, Nera?”

“Never, I love to play. However, I have other matters to tend to, for the moment.” She motioned to the guards. “Take this Tau’ri to a holding cell, and post a guard. He is very slippery, this one.” She glared at Geron, “He will not escape from me as he did from you.”

The guards picked Sheppard up, and left the Pel’tac carrying him. He would have preferred to stay and eavesdrop on the conversation between Nera and Geron.

Nera looked back at Geron, “We are less than three hours away from Beseren where I have important business. However, since you so foolishly left the Tok’ra memory device on Nemor, we will have to return there. My business on Beseren will take at least a day, so we will not be able to start interrogating Sheppard for at least 36 hours. He will give us nothing without the memory device. He is too stubborn, and thinks of himself as a hero; he will not talk.” She rose from her chair.

Geron visibly strained to keep his temper in check. “Sheppard gave us nothing when we used the Tok’ra device, what makes you think it will work now?”

The red-headed Alliance commander glanced at the floor for a moment before she spoke. Her voice was even in tone but full of venom. “You are a fool. You informed me that the man who helped Sheppard escape was the same man utilizing the device on him. You truly are an imbecile; he purposely withheld information from the Trust and from you to protect Atlantis.”

Geron bristled at being called a fool. “You are the fool, Nera. You and the others negotiated this arrangement with the Trust. However, you didn’t notice a traitor under your noses, so don’t call me the fool. The Council granted the Trust the authority to proceed with Sheppard as they pleased. The mistake was yours.”

Nera descended from the command platform, her eyes searing with hatred, “I would be careful who I insulted, commander.” She paused, taking a deep breath, “In the meantime, I am permitting your ‘companion’ a little amusement. Unleash your faithful animal; allow her have some fun with the colonel. Let her loosen his resolve a bit.”

She stepped down to look Geron in the eyes, “Geron, understand this. Make certain she restrains from hurting him too badly. If he dies, without telling us what we need to know about Atlantis; I will kill you both.”

~ooOOOoo~

Dr. Lam apparently had enough of the visitors in her infirmary.

“Quiet, all of you,” she glared at the group crowding around the bed where she was treating Brody Myles. “Back away from the bed, or I will have security remove every one of you, including you, general.”

General Landry and Colonel Mitchell stepped back; they had experienced the wrath of Dr. Lam before. Ronon, Teyla, McKay, and Lorne didn’t budge, causing Mitchell to chuckle.

“Lam is not nearly as nice as Keller and Beckett. She will sic the Marines on you,” he whispered to them, his eyes twinkling. The four Atlantians retreated to a safer distance.

Myles looked as exasperated as the others felt. He wanted to debrief everyone, but Lam had insisted on examining him.

“Doctor, how is he?” General Landry’s voice contained all the impatience that everyone else was feeling.

“Sergeant Myles suffered considerable bruising over his body and, thankfully, only minor lacerations. He has a broken ankle, a slight fracture, more like a stress fracture. We are fitting him with a soft cast, then he needs to rest. While we are getting the cast ready, you may speak to him.” Landry smiled widely, but Dr. Lam knew he was being sarcastic. She frowned at him as she left Brody’s bedside.

To prevent a mass stampede toward Brody, Landry put his hand up to keep the rest of them back, and approached the bed. “Sergeant, you did good, getting Sheppard out of that compound.”

Brody was clearly agitated, “Sir; he was injured and the Alliance isn’t fooling around. They want Atlantis, and they’ll do anything to get it. I shouldn’t have allowed him to give himself up to protect me.”

Teyla moved closer to Brody’s bedside. “Sergeant – Brody, you rescued Colonel Sheppard from his captors. It was the colonel who made the decision for you to be the one to inform us of what is happening. You did very well and have followed the colonel’s orders. You should not be blaming yourself.” Brody looked at her for a moment, then nodded slightly. As Teyla stepped back, Landry patted her on the arm, and gave her a small smile.

“OK, you got as far as telling us about the crash, and Sheppard’s plan to give himself up so that you could get away. What happened after the guards took Sheppard away to Nera’s ship?”

Brody related his difficult trek down the mountain. He told them about coming across a group of men, including Lec’a, the former Jaffa, heading toward the crash site to check on survivors. He was pensive as he described how Lec’a and his family had treated his wounds, fed him breakfast, and provided transport to the stargate.

Mitchell smiled, “Teal’c would be proud that a Jaffa helped you. I’ll let him know about Lec’a help.”

Brody smiled briefly, then shook his head. "Sir; Nera is a bad news. I heard her name mentioned quite a bit around the outpost before they brought the colonel there. She’s really vicious, and apparently, hates Geron. If they get into a power struggle over Atlantis, Colonel Sheppard could be the loser.”

Landry spoke up, “Mitchell, inform all off-world teams that their priority is gathering intel on this Nera. I want teams deployed to any Alliance planet where we don’t have boots on the ground. Let’s go, people.”

Landry was about to walk away, when Brody called after him, “General, I want to go along when we find out where the colonel is. I owe him that, sir.”

“Dr. Lam will probably have something to say about that, sergeant; but we’ll see.”

As they left the infirmary, McKay caught up with Landry. “General, what do we know about this woman, Nera, and how dangerous she is?”

“Actually, doctor, we’ve heard of her, but the only interaction we have had with the Alliance recently has been with their activity regarding the Destiny. She wasn’t involved with that to our knowledge.”

Lorne joined them, “General; I believe it might be a good idea to talk to the slave trader to see what he knows about Nera. With your permission, I’d like to the gate back to Colu. The slavers are being retained there until Colonel Mitchell releases them.”

“Good idea, major; stumbling onto that slaver may be the biggest break we’ve had, along with Sergeant Myles being undercover where they brought Sheppard. I’d like for Mitchell to return with you. That way you won’t need to wait for my orders. Stand down for now, get some food, and as soon as Mitchell’s ready, you have a go.”

Landry started to walk away but stopped. He turned back to Lorne, “Major; I don’t mean to imply that this is not your mission. Colonel Sheppard is your CO, and you are in command on this rescue. Mitchell will only be there to provide support and direct the ships wherever you need them, understood?

“Understood, thank you, general,” Lorne replied. He and McKay met up with Ronon and Teyla, and headed to the mess hall to wait.

~ooOOOoo~

The door to the cell creaked open. Sheppard heard the shuffle of heavy boots across the deck. He was exactly where he had been thrown, lying on his right side; the body part that hurt the least, for the moment. He attempted to turn and face the doorway, but decided the struggle was simply too much effort.

“Who are you,” he grumbled.

A sultry, deep female voice replied, “Your worst nightmare.”

“No…no you’re not…unless you’re a clown.”

He heard other footsteps enter the room. The woman ordered the new arrivals to pick him up. Once the guards had him upright, he got his first glimpse of his visitor. She was tall, looking him directly in the eyes. Her jet black hair and dark almond eyes, brimming with hate, gave her a sinister look. Even if he felt like being charming, he doubted it would work on her.

“Bring him,” she stepped into the corridor, the guards dragging him behind. They traveled only a short distance down the hallway before Dresa opened a door to a larger room.

“Shackle his wrists to the rings,” she directed the guards.

Sheppard couldn’t stifle a deep groan as the guards roughly tugged his arms upward. They secured his wrists to the metal shackles attached to the ceiling, pulling taut on the chains. His feet barely touched the deck; chains wrapped around his boots kept him from moving his legs. The pain meds had definitely worn off, and his broken ribs felt as though they were cutting through his flesh.

He watched through lowered eyelids, as the woman pulled on a pair of thin leather gloves. Crap, he thought, that doesn’t bode well.

“Hey, got…a p-pair of those for me? I could go…for a little s-sparing.”

She laughed, “You are defiant, aren’t you? I would so love to impress you with the full extent of my talents, but Nera says you must remain alive,” she paused, as she circled around him, “for now. She simply wishes to remind you that you will tell us what we want to know.”

“I’m…not telling…you any…” he stopped sharply as Dresa slammed her fist into his right kidney. His knees buckled from the sharp pains radiating from the blow. For the next few minutes, she pelted blow after blow into his abdomen and back, mixed with a few kicks. One kick, to the back of his right thigh was so hard the resulting pain left him breathless.

Dresa walked away from him, leaning against the wall, rubbing the knuckles on her hands. “Ummm…I am truly enjoying this. You are quite strong, or stubborn, doesn’t really matter which. What matters is that you didn’t become a whiny little boy, begging for me to stop. I hate whiny little boys; I tend to hit them just a bit harder.”

She walked over to him. Sheppard’s head had dropped against his chest, and she grabbed his chin, roughly forcing his head up. He was groggy, his eyelids drooping shut. “It’s a shame. Nera won’t let me really test how far I could go with you.” She turned his head to look at him directly, “Such a pretty face, but I can’t leave it unmarked.” She released her grip on his chin, and delivered a right hook across his left cheek. A stream of bright blood began to spill down his face from the split along his cheekbone, and he lost consciousness.

~~~

Awareness crept back slowly; he was lying on his back on top of something soft, definitely more comfortable than the deck. He tried to force his head to move, but stabbing pains in his neck caused him to reconsider rather quickly. He was about to surrender to unconsciousness again when he sensed someone in the room. He tried to move, and heard a familiar voice tell him not to try.

“Please lie still, colonel, let me attend to your wounds.” Jarva said quietly.

Sheppard didn’t mind remaining still. He wasn’t feeling as much pain as he expected. As if Jarva was reading his mind, the medic explained, “I gave you an injection of medicine, enough to knock the pain down. I want to examine you before I give you a higher dose.”

Jarva cleaned the wound on his face and examined him for any serious injuries. Sheppard wasn’t certain how much time passed before he felt a sharp stab in his arm.

“Just gave you more medicine to help with the pain, you should sleep for a while. You’re very lucky, colonel. Dresa worked you over pretty well. You’re badly bruised but she didn’t hit anything vital. Nera instructed me to warn her where she should avoid striking you. I informed her to avoid your left side, so there is no further damage to your broken ribs. Like I told you before, Nera wants you alive. I don’t think you are going to have to go through that again; at least until we arrive at the outpost.

Sheppard groaned, “N- nice to know. Why…w-why do you work for her?”

“Long story; let’s just say my life depends on it.”

The effect of the pain medicine was beginning to kick in. Sheppard was alert enough to sense Jarva’s presence in the room when he heard the door slid open and someone else joined them.

“How is he?”

“He’ll live, Nera. Although, I don’t see the point in beating him, you have the means to get what you want at the outpost.”

Sheppard felt a hand, no doubt Nera’s, on his bruised and swollen cheek. “I needed to keep Geron and his beast content. They are enraged at this lovely man because he got the better of them. However, I find that to be a plus in the colonel’s favor. I needed to enable Geron to feel some satisfaction, so that he would cooperate with me. Shame that thing Geron keeps around felt the need to mark up this handsome face.”

Sheppard was willingly surrendering to sleep once again. As he drifted off, he heard the door slid open and Nera make a last remark to Jarva. “Keep him alive, or you will die, as well.”

~ooOOOoo~

Major Evan Lorne was a patient man. One of his greatest enjoyments in life was sitting quietly for hours and painting a landscape or one of the towers on Atlantis. He had learned even more patience as the executive officer for a certain colonel who was both hyperactive and laid-back, depending on the situation. However, at this moment, he was losing his patience rapidly.

Nacor was sitting across from him at a table in the Quonset hut used for security and was being obstinate. He sensed that Lorne needed something from him, and he wanted a deal. Lorne was not in a deal-making mood; he was, however, about to call Ronon in and let him take over. He’d call Mehra in, but she wanted to kill Nacor, and that wasn’t going to help them.

“I am not cutting a deal with you. I will, however, let the tribunal on Petrana know that you cooperated, if you cooperate. Now, let me ask you again, what do you know about an Alliance commander by the name of Nera?”

The slave trader leaned back in the metal folding chair and laughed. “Tau’ri, I don’t know anything. However, my memory might return if I didn’t have to worry about what the tribunal has in store for me.” He stared at Lorne with a smug look on his face.

Lorne’s expression didn’t change. He stood up and casually walked around the table, nodding at Sergeant Johnston, who was standing guard. Nacor apparently didn’t think the major was much of a threat; until his chair went flying out from underneath him. When awareness kicked in, Nacor found himself flat on his back, Lorne’s boot in the center of his chest, and a 9-mil pointed at his head.

“You have one choice here, tell me what you know, and I will let you live. Otherwise, I will let you go, but I will also make certain that every Lucian Alliance member knows you turned on them. They will know you told us everything you knew about them. How long do you think you’ll live, Nacor?”

Nacor looked stunned. He wasn’t prepared to be threatened by the Tau’ri military. He knew, without a doubt, this man meant what he said. The Tau’ri would tell the Alliance, and he would die. “All right, all right, I’ll tell you everything I know.”

Lorne jerked his head toward Johnston, and the big Marine scooped Nacor off the floor, forcing the slaver to sit on another chair. He remained standing directly behind Nacor, a slight smile on his face. Lorne assumed that meant he had Johnston’s approval.

“Now, tell me everything you know about Nera.”

An hour later, Lorne was sitting with the Atlantis team leaders, and Colonel Mitchell. McKay was pacing, as he usually did when he was nervous and asking questions. “So, he’s been taking the slaves to Geron and holding them at the outpost until he can auction them off?”

“Apparently; it was a win-win for these thugs. Geron got free servants and Nacor had a place to keep an inventory of slaves.” Lorne sighed, deeply, “Sick people do sick things.”

Major Teldy spoke up, “What does this have to do with the woman who is holding Colonel Sheppard?”

Mitchell replied, “Out intel tells us that Nera is the major player for the Alliance in this quadrant; Geron would answer to her. Although they hold the same rank within the Alliance, she is clearly his superior.”

“Nacor knew that Geron was holding someone important, but he didn’t know who. He did say that Nera and Geron hate each other. Geron has a companion; a woman named Dresa, who acts like his enforcer. Apparently, Nera despises her. Geron is gunning for her position within the Alliance, and will do what he has to do to defeat her. If he had to call Nera to transport him off the planet after the colonel escaped, I doubt he’s very happy.” Lorne added.

“Well, that could be a plus; if they’re infighting, they might not notice we are getting close to them.”

Ronon was sitting on top of a work bench along the wall. “If we get close, Mitchell, we need information, and we don’t have anything.” Ronon’s voice was quiet, but there was no mistaking his underlying rage.

Mitchell replied, “I know, Ronon; I share your frustration, man. All I can tell you is that the SGC is doing everything possible to find out where Sheppard is. It’s the only priority we have. We just have to be patient; something will break.”

~ooOOOoo~

Geron angrily opened the door to Dresa’s chambers, interrupting her strength training. She was lifting objects from around the room, and dropped a chair with a thud when the door burst opened.

“What is wrong with you?” Instead of looking concerned, she appeared bemused by his behavior.

“I wanted to interrogate Sheppard; I am tired of waiting, and I want answers from him. She has posted guards on him; guards with orders preventing me from seeing him. She is denying me the right to see my own prisoner. I detest that woman.” He slammed his fist down onto a tabletop, his face seething with anger.

Dresa flopped down on the ornate couch, “You are such a silly man. Did you forget that this is her ship and her rules? I have told you, if you want power, you have to take it; griping about it makes you appear weak."

He turned to gaze at her, “You would do well to remember your place, Dresa. I have killed for lesser insults.”

“But you know I speak the truth, which is why you refuse to harm me.” She rose and walked over to him, “You have the opportunity to do something about Nera. Once we get to the outpost and inside the compound, you are in control. The guards are loyal to you. She will have few of her people with her when she rings to the surface. It will be only a matter of planning, and you can eliminate your competition. The Ha’tak will be yours, and we will no longer be constricted by the whims of the others. You will be one of them.

Geron smiled, “Some people wonder why I keep you around; after all, you are quite depraved when you choose to be. That’s why I keep you around actually; that and the fact that you are my muse. You are correct; it is time to eliminate Nera.”

~ooOOOoo~

Corporal Ramon Rodriguez was restless. His teammates, including his best friend, Corporal Paul Brenner, were playing cards, but he had too much nervous energy to sit for very long. He wanted action; he wanted to be looking for the colonel. He had gone for a run on the path the SGC Marines had carved out of the terrain and was walking to cool down before he returned to the outpost. He was in sight of the huts when he found Dr. Rodney McKay, looking forlorn, sitting on a tree stump along the path.

“Dr. McKay, you OK, sir?”

McKay looked up, recognizing who was talking to him, “Corporal: yeah, I’m fine.”

Rodriguez laughed, “Sir, I believe we are all channeling Colonel Sheppard today. You sounded just like him then.”

“Did I? Well, that would be ridiculous, I’m nothing like him.”

“I’m not so sure about that, doctor. You’re pretty good in a fight.” Rodriguez was grinning.

McKay brightened a bit, “Really, you think so?” Then he frowned, “No, you’re just trying to be nice. I doubt the Marines think that.”

“No, sir; I’m not. We know you’ve saved us all more than once. We might not always understand you, but we do respect you.”

McKay gave the young corporal a perplexed look, “I didn’t k-know that…I...”

“Sir, we’ll find the colonel. We all want him back.”

“He likes you and your buddy, you know.”

Rodriguez smiled, “Yeah, we know. Why don’t we go back to the huts, sir? I could use something to drink.”

“Yeah, OK.”

McKay rose and followed the corporal back to the outpost. As they were about to enter the mess hall, they heard Captain Isaacs call out to them.

“Doctor, we’ve been looking for you. Major Lorne would like to see you in the command hut, sir. We’ve got something.”

McKay took off at a dead run toward the hut, with Isaacs and Rodriguez right behind him.

As they entered, Cam Mitchell waved them toward the back of the hut where nearly the entire Atlantis contingent was huddled around a man who was dressed as local from one of the planets.

McKay asked quickly, “What have you found out?”

Mitchell introduced the new arrival, “This is Captain Matthews of SG-33. His team has been on a planet called Beseren, checking out reported Lucian Alliance activity. Captain, this is Dr. McKay. Could you please recap what you just told us?”

“Yes, sir; Dr. McKay, my team and I have been monitoring events on Beseren for five weeks. There have been indications for some time that a number of the Alliance leaders were preparing to hold a summit on the planet. Rumors of discord among the Alliance members have been rampant after numerous missions have gone awry the last several months. We’ve been watching the known Alliance hangouts on Beseren, and we got lucky earlier today. Nera’s ship arrived at the planet, and she is currently meeting with others in the Alliance.”

“Then let’s go.” Ronon stated.

Lorne answered, “Hold on, Ronon; let Matthews finish.”

“We were about to call for reinforcements to do what he said,” Matthews pointed to Ronon. “Then a member of my team, Lieutenant Bonaventure, struck up a conversation with one of crew members on Nera’s ship. The lieutenant plied the guy with drinks and discovered he served on the command bridge.”

“What did he find out?” McKay asked impatiently.

Matthews uttered a short chuckle, “She found out that Nera has a destination after she leaves Beseren, and that she is holding a special guest.”

Teyla and Rodney spoke at the same time, one uttering ‘John’ and the other ‘Sheppard.’

“The crewman said their guest was a very important Earth military officer. We believe it’s definitely Colonel Sheppard. The man then told Bonnie that they were headed to a secret location when they left Beseren. The departure time seems to be tomorrow morning at the earliest. A few more drinks, and he told Bonnie about the Alliance outpost.”

Lorne and Mitchell nodded at each other, Lorne saying, “We head for the outpost.”

“Let’s storm the ship now and get Sheppard.” Ronon stood up, ready to go.

Mitchell sighed, “Ronon, if they are taking Sheppard to the outpost, they’ll transport him to the surface. It will be a lot easier to rescue him on the ground, plus the Hammond is already there. We need to put a plan together.”

Lorne began, “Colonel; we’re going to require Sergeant Myles to provide a layout of the compound, but we need to determine a way to get inside. According to Nacor, the planet has been deserted for hundreds of years. That's the reason the Alliance chose it for their secret outpost. A large number of SG personnel sneaking up on the compound will hardly go unnoticed.”

“I’ll contact the SGC, and Colonel Carter, let them know what is going on, and I’ll get Sgt. Myles here. I’ll also find out where the Apollo is located. Landry sent the Daedalus onto Atlantis to provide security. We’ll hitch a ride with Ellis to get to Nemor.” Mitchell stood up and was about to walk away until McKay’s voice stopped him.

The scientist had been quiet, appearing lost in thought. When he spoke, a slight smile flitted across his face, “I believe that we need to go into the slave business.”

~ooOOOoo~

Everything was in place. Several hours earlier, the Atlantians and ten SGC teams had gated to a planet closest to the Apollo’s location, where they beamed onto the ship once it arrived. The Apollo left orbit, engaged the hyperdrive, and pushed the engines as hard as possible toward Nemor. Brody Myles was onboard, having been personally escorted, covertly, from the SGC infirmary by General Landry. The general managed to push him physically through the gate just as Dr. Lam ran into the gate room to reclaim her patient.

The Hammond and the Apollo were now in a fixed orbit on the far side of the planet. Two jumpers, which were part of the starships’ inventory, were cloaked in orbit. One jumper directly above the compound and one remaining in constant communications range with the ships. Dr. McKay’s plan had been implemented, and everyone had taken positions. They waited for Jumper One to radio the Ha’tak had arrived.

Two long nerve-racking hours passed before Jumper One signaled the Ha’tak had dropped out of hyperspace and entered orbit. Another twenty-five minutes passed before the radio cackled and a voice from the surface uttered the words they were all waiting for.

“Colonel Sheppard’s here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for continuing to read Remember Atlantis...please let me know what you think....


	10. Chase

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Colonel John Sheppard wakes up after suffering a serious injury to find the memories he holds aren’t real. Or are they? Now, he has to determine which reality is really his.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Word Count: Chapter 10: 5,335  
> Spoilers: No blatant spoilers…some mention of events related to Stargate overall.  
> Warnings: Language   
> Disclaimer: I do not own them; I would have treated them better.

Chapter 10 Chase

 

Nera was loathed to admit it, but she was excited. Her meeting with the discontented Alliance leaders had gone well, especially when she informed them of the prize she would soon have in her hands. The prospect of gaining a trophy with the power and importance of Atlantis was incredibly tempting to the Lucian Alliance. So alluring, in fact, that Nera knew she needed to watch her back.

They had reached orbit around Nemor approximately thirty minutes before, and she had just ordered Colonel Sheppard, accompanied by her top lieutenants and the medic, ringed to the compound. She would transport down as soon as she dealt with Geron. She had decided after speaking with some of her ‘friends’ in the Alliance to simply cut Geron out of the Atlantis deal. She was about to inform him that he was no longer in charge of the Atlantis mission. She was relishing the moment.

Geron, followed by his shadow, Dresa, strode onto the Pel’tac, as if he belonged on the bridge. He didn’t seem to notice that there were several more guards present on the deck than usual. Nera, however, noticed that Dresa was quite observant, and realized that something was amiss.

Geron strode to the command chair, “I want to go now, Nera; I want to begin interrogating Sheppard. You need to transport him to the surface.”

While he was speaking, Dresa moved away from Geron, attempting to prevent having her back to anyone in the room. Nera caught the eye of her chief guard who immediately began to mimic Dresa’s movements. She returned her full attention to Geron.

Commander Geron, I am sorry to inform you, but you have been replaced as commander of the operation to capture Atlantis. The Alliance has given that honor to me and I…” She broke off as Geron lunged at her. Her guards grabbed him and Dresa, as well.

“You witch; you planned this from the time you arrived on Nemor to pick me up and search for Sheppard. You were always planning to undermine me.”

“Actually, I never considered it; at least until I met with other leaders on Beseren. It was there we decided that you were simply too much of a rogue for us to allow you to have this kind of success.” She smiled, noticeably insincerely, at the angry commander. “I do plan for you to play a role. I will give you something to do, so that you, and” she looked at Dresa with disdain, “your little friend will feel useful. You will wait here while I obtain what we need from Sheppard.”

Geron struggled against the grip the guards had on him, “I will not take your handouts.”

She approached Geron, her face inches from his, “Be thankful I don’t kill you where you stand. You still have a few friends in the Alliance, who spoke up in your defense. They convinced us that you’ve been a proficient enforcer when we have required your services. That's all that is keeping you alive, for the moment. You will take what I decide to give you, Geron.”

She turned toward her chief guard. “Have the guards take them back to quarters. You will accompany me to the surface.” Without looking back, she left the Pel’tac and Geron, who was seething with anger. What she failed to see as she left the room was the look exchanged between Geron and the guard, who approached to take him to his quarters.

~ooOOOoo~

At that moment, Lorne and Teldy were unaware that luck was on their side. They were worried about Geron’s arrival and whether he would notice that some of the Trust and Alliance personnel had changed. Both were dressed in Alliance guard uniforms, part of Dr. McKay’s plan to infiltrate the compound acting as slaves and technicians. As they stood guard in the large control room, they could see Colonel Sheppard lying on the bed in the small inner room. An Ancient console sat against the wall near him, along with a lot of other computer and monitoring equipment. The major was relieved about one thing, although the colonel was unconscious when he arrived in the compound, he was alive. That was all that mattered to Lorne and the others.

Lorne looked around the room; nearly all the seven technicians sitting at the consoles were SGC or Atlantis personnel. Only two of the Trust techs taken into custody by Colonel Carter’s crew were in the room. Both had cut a deal. They would cooperate in exchange for lesser charges. Geron’s chief guard, had agreed to the same deal, he didn’t wish to die at Geron’s hands or Desha’s.

Nacor had been more difficult to persuade. One of his underlings, Peser, along with Densin, the young man who had helped them with information before, had agreed to pretend to be there to drop off a group of new slaves, all SGC personnel, to the compound. They were going to say that Nacor had business elsewhere. The problem had been how to procure a ship that looked like the slavers would be able to get their hands on. Somehow, Mitchell made it happen by contacting Teal’c, and an old, beat-up cargo ship landed on the planet an hour before the Apollo arrived. Several former Jaffa were on board, ready to assist the Tau’ri.

Ronon and Teyla, along with Mehra and some of the personnel from the Apollo and Hammond were posing as slaves. Lorne, Teldy, and others, who could fit in the uniforms, were dressed as Alliance guards. Captain Isaacs, Captain Stackhouse, Corporals Brenner and Rodriguez were all pretty good with tech. They were among the people manning the equipment in the control room. Sergeant Johnston had assumed the responsibility of protecting Dr. McKay and Dr. Beckett. They were Colonel Sheppard’s friends, and he promised Mitchell he would keep them safe. They were outside the compound in a cloaked Jumper One with Colonel Mitchell. Mitchell’s face was a bit too well known to the Lucian Alliance for him to go undercover.

Dr. McKay was pacing again, something he had a lot of practice doing. “Why the hell don’t we just beam him out of the compound?”

Mitchell started to answer but Beckett was quicker, “Rodney; the Trust knows about the implanted transponders. They removed or inactivated Colonel Sheppard’s before he left Earth. We’ve already been over this.”

McKay stopped pacing, joining them in the cockpit. He sat down behind Mitchell, staring at Beckett, “I know that, just forgot.”

“Lorne has eyes on John right now. He's fine, and we're going to keep him that way." Mitchell assured McKay. "Our priority is rescuing Sheppard, then we capture Nera and Geron. We need to get the Alliance under control.”

Their COM’s cackled, and Lorne's voice echoed in their earpieces, “Heads up. Nera just arrived.”

~ooOOOoo~

There were four guards escorting Geron and Desha toward their quarters. Geron was still seething at Nera’s behavior, but Desha was poised, like a coiled snake, ready to strike. She recognized the tall guard securing Geron as one of the Alliance members Geron had bribed throughout the ranks to be loyal to him. Her suggestion, of course; she was certain Geron was incapable of an original thought.

Dresa was unsure if any of the other guards accompanying them might be on Geron’s side as well. She had observed the look exchanged between Geron and the guard. She decided to wait for the guard to make the first move. As they neared her quarters, without the guards giving any sign that they were allies, Dresa decided she would have to free them herself.

She tensed up; ready to strike at the opportune moment. She was so focused she barely felt the tug on her arm until the young guard restraining her, had spun her around and thrust her up against the corridor wall.

Dresa struggled against the tall, well-built young man, but he used his body weight to restrain her. “Hey, Hosei, I think we should teach her a lesson, after we lock the old man in his room.”

The guard, who had appeared to communicate with Geron on the bridge, replied. “Yeah, I imagine she needs the hand of a real man.” He looked at Geron, “I doubt he can satisfy her.”

The other two guards began smiling broadly. They were obviously eager to participate in the little game that Hosei was about to play. As they were distracted by the site of Dresa pressed against the wall, Hosei grabbed one of the unknowing guards, shoving his head into the wall. The other guard reacted, but not quickly enough, and Geron struck him with a sconce cover he had snatched from the wall.

The young guard released Dresa with a smile which she returned. She addressed her commander, “Geron; we need reinforcements, and we need to get to the surface, now. We can surprise Nera, capture Sheppard; ring back onboard and take Nera’s ship.”

The tall guard spoke, “Commander; I am Hosei. There are many others here who will follow you, in addition to the guards you brought on board. More will join us, once they discovered Nera is no longer on board. She is not well-liked.” Hosei nervously looked at Dresa when he said that.

Dresa seemed not to notice, “We can take her down, Geron. This is your chance to become a leader within the Alliance.”

Geron's face brightened at her words. The four headed off to track down the loyal guards and release Geron’s guards, currently in a holding cell. It was time to put their plan in place.

~ooOOOoo~

Nera had swept into the control room as a queen would enter her court. Four Alliance guards accompanied her and waited behind her in the larger control center.

“I wish to speak to the head of security.”

Viras, who had been standing next to Lorne, stepped forward. ‘I am Viras, how may I serve you, commander?”

She slowly ran her gaze over him, then replied, “You can vouch for everyone here?” He answered yes. She continued, “Who are all these people who are not in uniform that I saw on the way?”

“They are slaves, commander. The slaver Nacor brings his inventory here until they are either taken to auction or sold privately.”

“Command Geron allowed this?”

“He did, commander.”

Nera smiled. “Geron is apparently a great deal smarter than I thought,” or Dresa is, she considered silently. “Where is the leader of the Trust?”

“Commander, Geron eliminated the leader Banks and severely beat the other man, Tichtor. At the moment, the Trust member in command is Isaacs. He’s over there.” Viras pointed to Captain Isaacs, who was standing by the door to the room Sheppard was in.

“Bring him to me.” Nera whirled and entered the small inner chamber where Sheppard was lying. Jarva was taking Sheppard’s vital signs; he looked up as she walked in.

“I trust he is alive, Jarva.”

“Yes, considering what he had been through, he is quite strong.”

Isaacs entered the small room, “You asked for me, ma’am.”

She looked over her shoulder at him, and smiled seductively, “You Tau’ri men are quite handsome, aren’t you? I simply must visit your planet someday. Perhaps, I will take Atlantis there and conquer you; then I would have all of you to myself.”

Isaacs smiled at her, “The pleasure would be ours, ma’am.” He arched an eyebrow to emphasize his words.

Her eyes twinkled, then became hard once more. “I trust you know how to use the Tok’ra memory device, Isaacs?” He nodded once. “Then, let’s get on with this, I want Atlantis.”

Isaacs proceeded to attach the leads to Sheppard’s temple, and then began to fiddle with the controls. He was taking his time. They wanted Geron on the surface before they made their move, but he hadn’t shown yet. Strategic components of the memory device had been removed by Brody when he and Sheppard fled the compound. They had only replaced the power cell so that the machine would activate. The key component was currently safe in Dr. McKay’s possession.

After a few moments with zero results, Nera was rapidly becoming quite annoyed. “You may be delicious, but I will kill you if you don’t make this work, now.”

“Ma’am, part of the problem is that the colonel is unconscious. We need him awake.”

She frowned, jerking her head toward Jarva. “Wake him up.”

Jarva opened his case and pulled out a vial and syringe. “As you wish, Nera.” He withdrew a small amount of fluid into the syringe, injecting it into the port which was still in Sheppard’s hand. Within minutes, Sheppard began to regain consciousness.

As he awakened, the first image Sheppard focused on was Nera. He managed to speak, “You…not the other o-one; that’s g-good.”

Nera laughed loudly. “Oh, colonel; you insult me, if you think you should be more afraid of Dresa than me.” Now, I will show you what I am capable of.” She slapped Sheppard soundly across the cheek. His head rolled violently to the right, a bright red mark making a quick appearance on his face. Corporal Rodriguez, sitting in main control, started to rise from his chair in reaction to Nera’s vicious slap. Anticipating his buddy’s move, Brenner grabbed his arm and kept him from jumping up.

Nera turned to Isaacs, her eyes hard, “Handsome boy, time for you to go to work.”

Isaacs approached the colonel, careful to keep his body between Nera and Sheppard. The captain needed to block Nera from noticing Sheppard’s reaction when he recognized him. He gently shifted Sheppard’s head until the colonel was facing the ceiling. As Sheppard opened his eyes, he looked to his right, and his eyes widened as he recognized Isaacs. He blinked rapidly as if to signal Isaacs that he knew who he was.

Isaacs made as if he was checking the leads and then returned to the console. Sheppard was watching him, expecting a signal. The captain flipped the power level to the memory device once more, and waited for Lorne’s command in his earwig. He turned to face Sheppard, so that he could warn the colonel when to be ready. Then just outside the small chamber, the control room was flooded with bright light and a deafening roar.

Transport rings materialized in an open section of the control room, crushing several unused consoles. Ronon and Teyla were nearly caught in the rings’ path. Waiting outside the control room door for Lorne’s signal, the pair rushed in as soon as they heard the sound of the rings descending. Ronon pulled Teyla out of the way with milliseconds to spare.

When the rings retracted, Geron, Dresa, and several guards began shooting. Major Teldy took a round in her shoulder. Weapon’s fire struck Corporal Brenner, grazing his upper left arm. Viras grabbed Teldy’s weapon and began shooting at Geron’s guards. Lorne took out one of Geron’s guards, while calling for reinforcements.

Geron and Dresa charged into the smaller chamber; weapons pointed at Nera and Isaacs. Isaacs rushed Geron, knocking him into the wall. Dresa rammed the stock of her weapon against Isaacs’ skull, and he dropped soundlessly onto the floor.

Nera was incensed. She struggled against Geron, who had grabbed her, “Geron; you fool, what are you doing?”

“Taking back what is rightfully mine, Commander Nera. Take them,” he shouted to his guards.

The guards, who were not shooting at the SGC personnel, seized Sheppard, yanking the lead from his temple and pulling him from the bed. Dresa roughly grabbed Nera, twisting her arms behind her back.

Geron had taken control of Sheppard. He had the colonel’s arms pinned behind his back. Using him as a shield, Geron forced him into the larger room toward the area where the rings had materialized; Dresa following with Nera, Jarva hiding behind Dresa.

Sheppard looked at Lorne and barely shook his head from side to side. Lorne knew that Sheppard’s orders were to stand down. He yelled cease fire, and watched helplessly, as Geron activated the remote ring transporter device. Within seconds, the rings dropped, retracted, and Sheppard was gone.

The silence lingering in the room was broken a string of Spanish uttered by Corporal Rodriguez. The young corporal’s words didn’t need translation. They all felt the same.

Lorne keyed his radio, contacting Mitchell, “Colonel, Geron just kidnapped Sheppard and Nera. They used the rings to transport down, and returned to the Ha’tak. I have wounded here, need medics.”

Mitchell responded, “Understood, major. Standby, help’s on the way.”

Mitchell glanced at McKay and Beckett; his companions appeared stunned. Beckett rose hurriedly from his seat, intent on bolting out of the jumper to tend to the wounded. Mitchell stopped him.

“No, remain here, doctor.” He waved Beckett back. “There’s a medic team from the Apollo with feet on the ground. They can take care of the injured.”

He tapped his COM, contacting the Apollo and Hammond, “Carter, Ellis; Geron just kidnapped Sheppard, and they are back on the Ha’tak. Who’s closest to my location?

Carter’s calm voice filled the jumper, “We are, Cam; rendezvous with you in a few minutes.”

Mitchell contacted Colonel Ellis on the Apollo. “ Abe, beam up everyone else; and leave Marines here to secure the compound and the prisoners, then follow the Hammond.”

Turning to McKay, Mitchell said, “Doctor, take us to the Hammond.”

McKay replaced Mitchell in the pilot’s seat, lifting the jumper toward its rendezvous with the Hammond.

~ooOOOoo~

As soon as the rings cleared above the Ha’tak, Nera wrenched away from Dresa and lunged for a weapon held by one of the guards. Dresa, however, was too quick for her. She grabbed Nera by her long red hair and jerked the commander violently toward her. She whispered in Nera’s ear.

“Oh, no, you aren’t going anywhere. I have suffered enough abuse from you. I have glorious plans for what to do to you.”

Geron called to her as he handed Sheppard over to the guards. “Let the guards take Nera to the cells. We need to get to the bridge.” As he and Dresa headed toward the Pel’tac, he heard Nera screaming, she would kill them both.

They entered the bridge, stepping over the bodies of two guards who resisted their takeover of the ship. Geron kicked one of the bodies as he stepped over it. “Bekas, get this filth off my bridge.” Bekas motioned to two guards standing by the doorway; they dragged the bodies away.

“Pilot, get us out of here, head for Rymar 7; go.” The pilot bowed his head in acknowledgement. Within seconds, the Ha’tak entered hyperspace, leaving the planet Nemor behind.

~ooOOOoo~

Mitchell raced onto the bridge of the Hammond, with McKay and Beckett on his heels. They found Teyla and Ronon already there. They had contacted Carter directly, requesting a beam up. Carter swiveled her command chair toward the new arrivals, “Welcome, aboard; you’re just in time. The Ha’tak is powering up her hyperdrive to leave orbit.”

“I suppose they are aware we’re here by now?”

Sam smiled, “If they don’t, that would be a plus. However, since we needed to get to you quickly, we had no choice but to enter their sensor range. The good thing, is that the Hammond is faster than the Ha’tak, and we have an Asgard beam weapon. ”

“Colonel, the Ha’tak just engaged hyperdrive.” Major Stokes, the Hammond navigator reported.

“Follow that ship, major.” The George Hammond smoothly entered hyperdrive, and took off in pursuit of the Ha’tak. The chase was on.

~ooOOOoo~

Sheppard was sitting on the deck of a holding cell somewhere in the bowels of the Ha’tak. He wasn’t alone. In the cell next to him was an extremely enraged red-head.

He watched her for a bit. At first, she had struggled fiercely against the leather bindings restraining her. Eventually, she gave up and was now lying quietly on her side. He spoke to her.

“Nera, you awake?”

She rolled over to face him, “What do you want, Tau’ri? To gloat at my circumstances, I don’t think you are in any position to do so.”

Sheppard laughed sarcastically, “You’re not in any p-position to be so high and mighty either. It looks like Geron got the better…of you.” He coughed and pain ripped through his ribcage. His left side had slammed into the floor when the guards threw him into the cell, and he was having trouble taking a deep breath.

Nera raised her head and glared at him. “He will die for this, and you will still tell me about Atlantis.”

“I’ll never tell you anything about Atlantis, and good luck that killing Geron thing. Some how I think he has other plans.”

It was Nera’s turn to laugh sarcastically. “Don’t try to provoke me; I will make your life, what little is left of it, a living hell.”

Sheppard was about to reply when the corridor door opened and Dresa walked in. Noting how tense Nera became, Sheppard realized that Nera, for all her bravado, was actually afraid of the exotic Dresa. He had to admit; she wasn’t one of his favorites either.

Dresa approached his cell first, “Oh, colonel; I was hoping for another round with you. Now that Nera no longer is in command, she can’t stop me. Looks like I am going to find out just how far I can go with you. But first, I get to play with her.”

Two guards entered, and unlocked the cell holding Nera, undoing the leather bindings around her ankles and pulling her upright. They dragged her into the corridor.

Before she left, Dresa turned back to look at him, “Don’t worry, I’ll be back for you.”

The door closed behind her. Sheppard rested his head against the cold wall behind him. He had come close to getting out of this mess, but fate was being very unkind to him. He realized that if Isaacs was at the Alliance compound, then the SGC and Atlantis had joined forces. It was a sure bet that one of a trio of colonels was in a fast ship following the Ha’tak. He needed to be patient; they would find him. He closed his eyes, think he should try to rest when the door opened again. He opened his eyes expecting to see Dresa; instead the medic, Jarva Pacur, slipped into the room.

“Colonel, please be quiet. I am going to get you out of here.” Jarva inserted a key into the lock on Sheppard’s cell door and entered the cell. He withdrew a retractable knife from his pants pocket, opened it and cut the leather straps that bound Sheppard’s hand and feet. Jarva then helped Sheppard stand.

“Can you walk?”

Sheppard nodded, the exertion he expended in standing had taken his breath. Jarva led him out into the corridor.

“Come on, colonel; I found place where we can hide while we figure out what to do.”

They followed the corridor, turning at a cross corridor. “Colonel, there is a conduit with a ladder up ahead, do you think you can make it up a flight?”

Another nod in the affirmative by Sheppard, and Jarva motioned toward an oblong hatch. Opening the hatch, he helped Sheppard over the high threshold and then climbed the ladder after him. When they reached the next level, they stepped into a darkened hallway.

Jarva pulled a small light torch from his jacket, and grasping Sheppard’s arm, hurried toward a door near the end of the long hall. Producing another key, he unlocked the door, propelling Sheppard inside.

“Where are we?” Sheppard asked as he sank down one of four cots in the room.

“These are crew quarters. They are not used as the Alliance does not carry nearly the number of crew that the Goa’uld did on these ships.” He reached for a satchel already sitting on a side table, withdrawing a bottle of the nourishment he had given Sheppard when he first treated him, “Here, drink this.”

Sheppard took the drink thankfully; he wasn’t hungry, but he was thirsty. He savored the cool, flavorful beverage for a moment.

“Why, w-why are you helping me?” He locked gazes in the dim light with Jarva.

“Because it’s time I fought back. Nera is ruthless. I have seen the results of her treachery and it is not pretty. You asked me earlier why I was here. I am here because I made a horrible mistake; I allowed a woman to die because of my negligence. Nera found out and bribed me to work for her and ask no questions. Otherwise she would tell the woman’s family that I killed her, because I was drunk when I treated her. I was as good as dead either way. The woman was from a prominent family, they would have had me killed.”

Jarva slumped down on the cot across from Sheppard. “Neva would have kept you alive; at least, until she got what she wanted. If what she told me was true that you have some ability to control the technology on Atlantis, then she would have kept you alive. But Geron and Dresa, they’d kill you first, then worry about whether they needed you. I doubt that Geron’s smart enough to know he would need you if they did take this Atlantis. I am tired of watching people die, colonel. I’m not taking part any more.”

“You realized what will happen to you if they find out you released me. They will kill you.”

“Yes, I know. For me, it really doesn’t matter any longer. I may not have saved my own life, but I may have given your associates' time to save yours. I saw the looks on their faces when Geron took you from the compound. They will do what they have to in order to find you.”

Sheppard didn’t reply; he knew that Jarva was right, his people would do what they had to do to find him. He thought back to the look on Lorne’s face as the major realized he wanted him to back off. The major was distressed, but followed his orders without question.

“If they are going to find us, we are going to have to stop this ship. I need to get to the engine room, or whatever it’s called on this ship. We need to get the hyperdrive, weapons, and shields off-line.”

“You need rest, colonel.”

“I’ll rest later. Do you know where the engine room is?” Jarva nodded and Sheppard continued, “Let’s go stop Geron.”

~ooOOOoo~

Geron was leaning against the wall, a self-satisfied and intently smug look on his face. Nera was shackled to the rings in the same chamber where Dresa had beaten Sheppard. Geron was looking forward to Dresa’s second round with the colonel. Now, however, he was thoroughly enjoying the systematic beating she was giving Nera.

After watching Dresa land two more sharp blows to Nera’s midsection, he moved away from the wall and grabbed Dresa’s hand, “Enough. It’s time she talked.”

Blood was dripping down Nera’s chin, from the numerous cuts on her face, which was already puffy and dark red from Dresa’s blows. Geron walked around her, imagining how bruised her body must be under the thin material of her shirt. The leather uniform stripped away when Dresa began her onslaught.

“Now, Nera, tell me about the device that you claimed will force Sheppard to tell us everything. Where is it?” His face was inches from hers.

She lifted her head as much as she could and glared at Geron through the slits of her swollen eyelids. She spat at him, blood spewing across his face. He slapped her as hard as he could and blood flew away from her face, splattering on the walls. He grabbed her bright red hair and jerked her head back.

“You will tell me now, or I will allow Dresa to finish you. Tell me and I will allow you to live.” She didn’t answer and Geron turned to Dresa. Dresa smiled coyly and began to hit Nera, harder than she had before. After a few staggering blows, Nera screamed.

“S-stop…I’ll t-tell you; just s-stop.”

He turned to the guards, “Bring Sheppard here. I want him to see what is in store for him if he doesn’t cooperate.” Turning back to Nera, he asked slowly, “Where is the device?”

She was telling him when the guards he had sent to bring Sheppard back returned. “Sir, I am sorry but…” the guard hesitated, “the prisoner is not in his cell.”

Geron went cold; not again, he would not lose the colonel again. His eyes black with rage, he spoke, his voice raw, “Find him.”

~ooOOOoo~

 

Jarva led Sheppard to the deck where the engine room was located. The trek had been difficult for Sheppard; his breathing was becoming somewhat irregular. Jarva was becoming concerned, but Sheppard wouldn’t tell him how bad the pain was. He was beginning to believe this man was stronger than any other he had seen.

They had not encountered any Alliance members until they arrived on the engine room level. They halted around the corner from the entrance until the two guards, who were standing in the corridor, parted. One entered the engine room, and one proceeded toward them.

Jarva turned to Sheppard, “Get ready.” Before Sheppard could prevent it, Jarva leapt out into the hall, knocking the guard to the deck, and landed on top of him. Sheppard hurried to the fallen men, seizing the weapon the guard was holding. Slamming the butt of the weapon against the guard’s jaw, he knocked the man out.

“Come on,” Sheppard took the lead. Silently, they approached the engine room.

Sheppard knew the door would make a noise and alert whoever was inside, but Jarva was quicker. He slipped around Sheppard and opened the door. As it slid open, he called out, “Hey, have you seen Geron? I’ve been looking…” He stopped talking and fell to the floor as Sheppard rushed into the room, firing the weapon at the guard and the technician. Both crew members dropped in their tracks. Sheppard closed the door, hitting the locking bar.

“Jarva, they could find the guard in the hall at anytime. We need to work fast.” Sheppard headed directly to the main console, opening the larges panel. The only thought in his head was how much he wished McKay was with him right then. He stared at the crystals in front of him, very different from the crystals on Atlantis. He racked his brain for the tech details from the reports he read about the Ha’taks. The last thing he wanted to do was shut off life support. He fiddled with a couple of crystals, as he was thinking.

“How do you know which of those things will do what you want?” Jarva was peering over his shoulder.

Sheppard uttered a soft chuckle. “I’m not sure, just hoping not to cut off life support, which I think is this set of crystals.” He pointed to a set of crystals in the upper corner. “I think the hyperdrive and shields are here, and weapons here,” pointing to two sets in the lower level. He was about to pull what he hoped was the crystal powering the shields when they heard pounding on the door. The door began to move slightly.

“We don’t have much time. If they get in here before I finish; you need to pull the crystals from these two sections. Now, go hide.” The door was opening. “Jarva, there is a set of back-up crystals somewhere in here. Find them, don’t let Geron get them. Go.”

Jarva was barely out of sight when the door opened completely and three Alliance guards poured into the engine room. Sheppard pulled a crystal, shields he hoped, and slammed it to the deck where it shattered in a thousand pieces. Seconds later, the guards grabbed him and dragged him from the engine room, not bothering to confirm the room was empty. Sheppard smiled as he was being led down the corridor, Jarva might just pull this off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two more chapters to go...hope you are continuing to enjoy.


	11. Pain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Colonel John Sheppard wakes up after suffering a serious injury to find the memories he holds aren’t real. Or are they? Now, he has to determine which reality is really his.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Word Count: Chapter 11: 3,516  
> Spoilers: No blatant spoilers…some mention of events related to Stargate overall.  
> Warnings: Language   
> Disclaimer: I do not own them; I would have treated them better.

Chapter 11 Pain

The guards roughly propelled Sheppard into the chamber where Geron was waiting for him. He would have fallen, but he stumbled against Nera, who appeared unconscious, hanging from the shackles. He wrapped his arms around her torso to remain upright, both swaying wildly for a few seconds.

“No doubt if she were awake, she would like that, colonel.”

Sheppard managed to get his feel firmly on the deck and saw Geron’s angry face approaching, his weapon drawn. The fact Dresa wasn’t in the room gave him some hope. However, he imagined he would only have a short reprieve.

One of the guards reported, “We found him in engineering; he broke one of the crystals from the central console. The remaining crystals on the console were still lit up, so we don’t think he had time to do any damage.”

“Who helped you?” Geron growled.

“No o-one, your…goons left the c-cell unlocked. I got the bindings…loose and got a-away.” Sheppard tried to take a deep breath but couldn’t manage it.

Geron scoffed. Sheppard shrugged. It was quite apparent that the man didn’t believe him.

“Colonel, you have been far too difficult. If I didn’t need you for the information you carry, I would kill you where you stand.”

“I’d pre-prefer you didn’t.”

Geron smiled, “You make me laugh. You think of yourself as so brave in the face of mortal danger. Such a dangerous trait for a man to have, don’t you think?” When Sheppard remained silent, he continued, “Would you like the same treatment as Commander Nera? Dresa thoroughly enjoyed herself; she would be positively ecstatic if I allow her to have her way with you. I will, eventually; but for now, we need information from you and thanks to Dresa, I have the means to acquire it.” He motioned to the guards, “Take him to Nera’s quarters.”

Dresa was waiting for them in Nera’s chambers. A sinister smile spreading across her face as Geron entered with Sheppard in tow. She was jubilant as she spoke, “The device was exactly where Nera said it would be. I have turned on the power, and it is ready for our test subject.” She twirled to face Sheppard, “Oh, which would be our only subject.”

As she spoke, she had walked up beside Sheppard. Biting her lip, she used a long finger to trace the cut she had made on his face. “Ummm…you need a matching mark on the other cheek.” Sheppard thought she was just a bit too excited in anticipation of hitting him again.

“Dresa, there will be time for that later, attach him to the machine.” Geron said, obviously aggravated.

Glowering at Geron, she gestured to the guards to bring Sheppard forward. An Alliance technician wheeled a cart holding the machine next to a long padded metal table. The table was narrow with leather straps, intended to restrain the head, arms, and legs, attached through slits cut in the metal.

“Guards, place our guest on the table.”

The guards dragged him to the metal table and there was nothing gentle about how they lifted him to put him onto the table. He groaned as his ribcage on his left side struck the edge of the table. The jolt sent ragged bolts of pain shooting through his ribs, momentarily he couldn’t breathe. Thankfully, he was still wearing his old leather jacket, which cushioned the blow somewhat. The technician proceeded to strap his wrists and ankles with the restraints and then attached the leads from the device to his head. Sheppard noticed a large view screen and lots of buttons before the device was out of his view.

“Do you know how to work this?” Geron looked uncertainly at Dresa

“Yes, Nera brought an Alliance technician onboard to run the machine. He knows all about this lovely device, and he is going to get the information we need. Tell Commander Geron about the machine...” She pivoted toward the tech with her hand outstretched.

“The machine is tricky, sir. It detects the first thought that enters the brain when a question is asked. If the verbal answer is not the same, the device considers the answer a lie. The machine transmits current into the pain center of the brain and creates excruciating pain until the subject tells the truth. There are lots of settings depending on how cooperative the subject is,” the technician answered nervously.

“We should have just used this the first day we had him on this ship. Nera called me a fool, but she is the fool.”

The technician turned on the machine, and Sheppard jumped involuntarily. He felt a surge of electricity flow through his body. From the probes attached to his skin, he felt a prickling sensation, penetrating into his brain.

“Name,” the technician asked in a monotonic voice.

Sheppard tried to resist, but he felt pain swelling in his brain. The longer he resisted, the more intense the pain became. When he couldn’t resist any longer he said, “James Kirk.” White hot pain shot through his head, then coursed through his body. He tried not to give in but the pain was more than he had ever experienced, he shouted, “John Sheppard.” As soon as he answered correctly, the pain dissipated.

“Where do you live?”

He tried to think of Earth, but Atlantis popped into his head first. He realized resistance was futile, then chuckled, fleetingly, at his word use. However, futile or not, it didn’t mean he wasn’t going to try.

No sooner did he reply, “Earth,” than the white hot pain returned. He tried to keep from saying Atlantis, but he couldn’t. The pain was worse than anything he had felt before, worse than a Replicator mind probe. He eked out Atlantis, and the pain faded away.

He was sweating profusely, rivulets of water dripping from him, and he was trembling, barely able to get his breath. A vision of Isabella’s beautiful face, dark blond hair framing sparkling deep green eyes, flooded his memory. He knew he would never meet her. He was positive he would not survive this time. However, he couldn’t give up any information about Atlantis.

He heard Geron ask, his impatience evident, “Get on with it, do you hear me? Is the machine set on the highest setting that it will go?

The tech glanced nervously at the commander and answered, “No, but higher could damage him.”

“Turn it up, I need this information now.”

The tech complied and asked, “Where is Atlantis located?”

He struggled. The pain was decidedly worse. Considering they already knew where Atlantis was, it wouldn’t matter if he just said Pegasus he thought, so he did. The pain dissipated as quickly as he uttered the name. The tech started to ask another question when the ship shuddered and slowed.

Although exhausted, a slight smile touched the corners of Sheppard’s mouth. Jarva had managed shut down the hyperdrive.

~ooOOOoo~

“Colonel Carter, the Ha’tak just dropped out of hyperspace.”

“Go to sub-light and get in front of that ship. Abe, did you copy?”

Over the bridge com, they heard Colonel Ellis answer, “Yes, dropping out of hyperspace, now.”

“Major Hakim, any sign they are powering weapons?”

“No, ma’am,” the Hammond tactical officer replied.

Major Stokes reported, “Ma’am, no shields.”

Behind her, Carter heard the sound of pounding footsteps coming down the corridor. She didn’t have to turn around to know it was Mitchell and Sheppard’s team.

“Sam, what’s happening?”

“If I were a betting woman, I believe that somehow, Colonel Sheppard has disabled the Ha’tak. They have dropped out of hyperspace, and haven’t raised shields.

Mitchell grinned, “Way to go, Sheppard; if he keeps this up, he’ll rescue himself. Sam, can you stop that ship?”

“Major”, she called to her tactical officer, “target the Ha’taks engines. I want that ship dead in the water.”

The major nodded, within seconds he fired the Asgard beam weapon. At the end of the bright white beam, a vivid flash sparked from the underbelly of the Ha’tak. The ship was drifting in space, her propulsion power gone.

Major Hakim matter-of-factly said, The target has been disabled, colonel.

Sam smiled, “Good job, major.”

Swiveling her chair, she faced Mitchell and SGA-1, “They’re all yours.”

Mitchell hit his COM, contacting Lorne on the Apollo. “Major Lorne, ready your strike force, time to rescue our missing colonel.

~ooOOOoo~

“What happen?” Geron rushed to a communications panel, using his fist to bang the call button for the bridge. “What is going on, why have we dropped out of hyperspace?”

“When the bridge officer reported what had happened, Geron bellowed at the top of his lungs. “What do you mean we lost hyperdrive and shields? Fix them.”

Geron was seething with anger. He turned toward Dresa, “I need you with me.” Pointing to Sheppard, he admonished the guards, “Watch him, do not let him out of your sight. If you do, I won’t kill you, she will.” He stormed out of the room, Dresa following, a devilish grin plastered on her face.

They were almost to the bridge when they felt the impact of the Asgard beam. The Ha’tak shook violently, slowing quickly to a stop. As the ship rocked, Geron steadied himself by grabbing a raised wall panel, he screamed at no one, “What are those fools doing?” As soon as the ship became stable, he continued running toward the bridge.

“What just happened?” He bellowed as he darted onto the bridge.

“The ship fired on us, sir. We don't have shields and the hyperdrive has apparently been disabled. The beam weapon took out our sub-light engines. We are drifting in space, sir." The bridge officer reported, his voice strong but his demeanor betraying his fear of the raging man standing in front of him.

“Then fire back at them, fool,” Geron was livid, “do it.”

The officer swallowed before he answered, “We do not have weapons, sir. They are off-line as well.”

Before Geron could answer, another crewman reported, “We have been boarded, nearly fifty life signs.”

“Get more security up here, now.” He brushed his fingers against the weapon he carried, determined not to allow the Tau’ri to take his prize. He would defeat these meddlesome do-gooders.

As Geron furiously ordered the crew to do his bidding, he didn’t notice Dresa slip away.

~ooOOOoo~

The SGC strike force materialized inside an empty cargo hold on the Ha’tak. Lorne immediately began deploying teams to search the ship. Mitchell, McKay, Ronon, Teyla, and Beckett were en route to the bridge, along with his team.

Lorne was about to leave the cargo bay when he realized that the injured Brody Myles was with Corporals’ Brenner and Rodriguez. He had argued with Major Teldy moments before, forcing her to stay on the Apollo. She wanted to be part of the strike force despite a through and through gunshot wound to her shoulder. There wasn’t time to have that same conversation with another Marine.

“Sergeant Myles, would you like to explain what are you doing here?” The tone of Lorne’s voice was indisputable. The major wasn’t happy.

Brody cringed. He had hoped the major wouldn’t notice him. He was facing the corporals and had to stifle a laugh when he saw their faces. Rodriguez and Brenner were trying, unsuccessfully, to appear innocent. Brody executed an about-face and addressed the major’s question.

“Sir, please don’t order me to return to the Apollo. I promised Colonel Sheppard that we would find him, and I am determined to be part of that effort. I walked on this ankle before I had it treated. Sir; I can do this.”

Lorne looked at Brody, then at the young corporals. They all had the same look on their face; fierce determination to rescue Colonel Sheppard. “You two OK with being responsible for keeping the sergeant safe, and make certain he doesn’t cause any issues because of his injury?” The empathic ‘yes, sir’ was delivered simultaneously by the two corporals.

“OK, he’s your responsibility. Stay alert, and in touch.”

As the trio left to catch up with Captain Stackhouse, Lorne paused a moment to watch them walk away. Three young Marines ready to fight to rescue an Air Force officer they were totally devoted to. Lorne smiled, as he headed for the area where his team was waiting for him. He was thinking about the man they came to rescue. The colonel does some pretty crazy stuff on his own sometimes. Lorne was beginning to think the colonel’s behavior was contagious.”

~ooOOOoo~

Captain Stackhouse led his team, accompanied by Brody and four Marines from the Apollo, to the first level of the two-level crew deck on the Ha’tak. Before they stepped into the main corridor on the first deck, Stackhouse divided them into two groups. He sent Corporals Brenner and Rodriguez, Sergeant Myles and Sergeant Tomas, and Airman Grange to check out the level above. They quickly headed for a narrow staircase that connected the decks.

Sergeant Tomas took point, and quickly exited the narrow stairwell, slipping across the short corridor to the intersection of a larger corridor. The others followed quietly, Rodriguez staying close to Brody. The sergeant signaled all-clear, and they entered the main hall to begin sweeping the level.

Rodriquez whispered to Brody, “What’s the crew size of a Ha’tak?” They had just inspected the first five crew cabins, finding no one in them.

Brody answered, “Don’t know the exact number. The Alliance doesn’t carry anywhere near the contingent the Goa’uld would have onboard.”

Brenner glanced over his shoulder, and added, “It looks like these beds have been slept in. Don’t know what cycle they are in, but I would think the entire crew would be at their stations after the weapons’ fire. That alarm we heard when we boarded was probably putting everyone on alert.”

Brody started to answer when Sgt. Tomas threw up her fist to stop them and whispered. “I saw something. Someone ran down that cross-corridor heading to the right; female, wearing an Alliance uniform. Let's go”

~ooOOOoo~

Lorne and Mitchell were standing on either side of the Pel’tac door. Lieutenant Salem and Sergeant Johnston stood directly in front of the doors, holding concussion and flash grenades. They purposely decided against using smoke grenades for fear that they would hit Sheppard with weapons’ fire if he was on the bridge.

Mitchell nodded to Lorne to open the doors, the major pressed the door control panel, and the doors slid open. Salem and Johnston tossed the grenades, and then ducked out of the way. Resounding, deafening noise and a brilliant flash of light streamed from the open door. The strike team heard disorientated yelling coming from the Pel’tac as they swarmed onto the bridge.

The assault was over quickly. The flash grenades temporally blinded the Alliance crew, and within a matter of minutes, the Marines had the bridge personnel under control. Mitchell was kneeling next to the command chair, Geron lying on the deck at his feet. The colonel's 9-mil was pressed tightly against Geron’s throat.

“Where is Sheppard, you son of a bitch?” Mitchell growled, the menacing undertone in his voice revealing his anger. He nudged the muzzle of his 9-mil beneath Geron’s leather collar. Mitchell needed the Lucian Alliance commander to feel the cold steel against his skin.

Geron mumbled and Mitchell could barely make out what the Lucian commander said. He heard enough to know that what he said was not pleasant. Motioning for help from two Marines standing nearby, he had them flip Geron onto his back. The man watching him was intimidated, which made Mitchell utterly delighted, exactly where he liked to have the Lucien Alliance, intimidated by the SGC.

“I am only going to ask where Colonel Sheppard is one more time, Geron. Your choice, either you tell me, or I will kill you.”

Geron’s eyes darted around the room, “Where is she, where is Dresa?”

“Not here, “ Mitchell took a deep breath. He was getting nervous; he had not realized Dresa was not on the bridge.

“Then you are too late. She will have killed him by now.” Geron had the audacity to smile. That gesture did not sit well with Mitchell or Lorne.

Lorne kneeled down, adding his P-90 to the objects pressed against Geron’s throat, “Where?”

From the expression in Lorne’s eyes, Geron had no doubt the man would kill him. Nervously, he answered, “Nera’s quarters, level 8.”

Lorne tapped his COM, “Stackhouse, Dresa’s on her way to Nera’s quarters on Level 8. She’s going to kill Sheppard.”

Lorne and Mitchell bolted from the Pel’tac, hearing Stackhouse’s acknowledgement; Sheppard’s team on their heels. From the looks on their faces, they all feared they would be too late.

~ooOOOoo~

As they turned the corner, Brenner caught a glimpse of the figure at the very end of the corridor. The tall, dark leather-clad person turned to the left and disappeared. The SGC team raced down the corridor, to find a shorter hallway, leading to an ornately decorated double door.

“She had to have gone in there, get this door open,” Tomas yelled to Brenner. The young corporal was good with tech; he accessed the control panel to unlock the door.

Colonel, major, we think we have Dresa…Level 8, NE corner, end of corridor to the left. Trying to access the room now, sirs.”

Inside Nera’s chambers, Dresa sprinted to the metal table where Sheppard was laying, roughly shoving the technician out of the way. She gripped the button to boost the power setting and flipped it to the maximum setting. When nothing happen to Sheppard, she realized that the machine had been turned off.

Anger roiled within her and she screamed, “Tell me, who turned this device off?” She whirled toward the technician, “You turned the device off, didn’t you? You fool; it will take minutes for it to warm up!”

Enraged, she backhanded the technician, satisfied as she watched him slide across the deck, slamming into the wall. She pressed the power button angrily. She then turned her attention to Sheppard. The colonel was either unconscious or sleeping. She shook his shoulder violently, but he wouldn’t wake up fast enough to suit her. She struck him violently across the face. His eyes snapped open; confusion, then hatred for the woman leaning over him, filled his eyes.

“I would kill you now, Sheppard, but I desire to watch you suffer immensely. You experienced a great deal of pain earlier; I am still highly excited from the joy of watching you hurt. I can’t wait to see what a higher setting brings. When it’s ready, I am going to see what a lot of electricity does to you.” She sneered, her eyes filled with excitement.

The doors slowly began to slide apart, and Dresa shrieked at the guards. “Take care of them.” She turned back to the device, it was mere seconds from reaching full power. Her fingers caressed the knob, poised to send as much current as possible into Sheppard’s brain.

The door slipped apart and Tomas and Brenner rushed in, Brenner yelling to the others, “Colonel, center of the room.” The two Marines rolled to the side, firing at the three guards in the room. Two of them fell to the deck immediately. The third one hid behind a large chest firing. Rodriguez and Grange entered the room swiftly behind their teammates. An expert sniper, Rodriquez’s took precise aim on the partially hidden guard. With one shot, he eliminated the threat. The technician was standing quietly against the wall; arms raised above his head.

While the Marines and Grange were taking out the guards, Brody Myles aimed his weapon on Dresa. She was intently watching a device that was next to Colonel Sheppard. Considering the leads attached to the colonel, Brody’s face reflected his fear about what she was planning to do.

“Dresa, step away from Colonel Sheppard.”

Her head whipped around, long black ponytail flinging around her head. Her eyes were wild. She was cornered, and it was obvious that she knew it. “You, you were the traitor. You aided his escape and caused all of this. After I kill him, I will kill you.”

“I’m only going to say once more, step away from the colonel,” Brody’s voice never wavering.

The device made a quiet ding indicating it had reached full power. She spun the knob as far as it would turn, sending the maximum flow of electricity into Sheppard’s brain. Brody fired the sig sauer that the colonel had returned to him on the crashed ship. The bullet struck Dresa between her exotic eyes. Her head jerked back, then came forward; an instant before she fell, she stared Brody in the eye.

As Brody rushed toward the colonel, Sheppard uttered a long harrowing scream, then his body began convulsing. Brody turned the knob that was controlling the strength of the flow, then flipped the machine off. Sheppard continued to seize.

Rodriguez and Brenner had reached his side. Rodriguez tapped his COM, “We need Dr. Beckett in Nera’s quarters now, Colonel Sheppard’s in bad shape.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Almost done....


	12. Go...Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Colonel John Sheppard wakes up after suffering a serious injury to find the memories he holds aren’t real. Or are they? Now, he has to determine which reality is really his.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Word Count: Chapter 11: 4,130  
> Spoilers: No blatant spoilers…some mention of events related to Stargate overall.  
> Warnings: Language  
> Disclaimer: I do not own them; I would have treated them better.

Chapter 12 Go…Home

 

Rodney was pacing in the small confines of the George Hammond’s infirmary waiting room.

“Why won’t Carson tell us anything?” He asked, not really expecting a reply; he didn’t receive one.

Teyla and Ronon were sitting quietly on a bench along one wall. Brody Myles was sitting on another bench across from them, his broken ankle in a real cast. A few members of Atlantis contingent were waiting in the passage way outside of the infirmary, holding vigil for their CO. The rest, including Major Lorne, were aboard the Apollo, assisting with securing Ha’tak and the prisoners.

The door opened and everyone looked up quickly, but it was only Colonel Mitchell returning with coffee. He handed out the hot drinks, smiling as Teyla realized he had given her a cup of Athosian tea. She looked at him inquisitively.

“Sam got hooked on the stuff when she commanded Atlantis. Caldwell brings a supply back from Atlantis for her every time he’s there. She’s sharing her private stash; she thought you might need it.”

She paused, sighing deeply, staring at the wall in front of her for a moment. “I cannot seem to wipe the memory of John shaking so violently from the seizures. How can he handle much more of that?”

Mitchell patted her on the hand. “Sheppard’s strong, he’ll be OK, Teyla.” They lapsed into silence and waited.

Twenty minutes later, a wan and exhausted Carson Beckett came through the internal infirmary door. He sat down next to Brody.

Rodney, his impatience overcoming him, blurted out, “Carson, how is he?”

“McKay, let the man breathe.” Ronon grumbled.

Carson looked longingly at the coffee cups in their hands, and Ronon handed his cup over. Carson smiled slightly and took a long drink, then a deep breath. “He is resting. We think we have enough medication in him to help calm the seizures, but he is continuing to have them. Colonel Carter and the Hammond engineers have been examining the device. It appears to be some kind of ultra-sophisticated lie detector. When it detects a lie, it sends intense beams of electricity into the brain’s pain center. The pain must be excruciating.”

Brody spoke, “Burns, who was heading the Trust operation, told me about a machine like that. He said the Alliance had informed the Trust that they would have one in their possession before they took Colonel Sheppard. They kidnapped the colonel much earlier than they anticipated. I suppose they hadn’t gotten the device to the compound, and decided to go with the Tok’ra memory device.

“Lad, did Colonel Sheppard seem alright after either the virtual reality or the memory device was used on him?”

Brody shook his head, “Yes, sir. The colonel seemed fine with the exception of his broken ribs. He was acting like his back hurt after the crash, but he told me he was fine.” When Sheppard’s team, Beckett and Mitchell exchanged glances and chuckled, Brody looked confused.

Carson sighed, “We aren’t laughing at the colonel, laddie. We’re laughing because it never matters how badly he's injured. Colonel Sheppard always assures us that he is fine.”

Brody nodded, “Yeah, Dr. Beckett; I hear you. It didn’t take me long to recognize the colonel is a hell of a strong guy.”

“Can we see him?” Rodney asked.

Carson hesitated, then nodded, “Yes, not that I could prevent you without a bevy of Marines, but only for a few minutes. I imagine he’s still sleeping, so don’t expect him to talk.”

They rose in unison to follow Beckett, with the exception of Brody, who remained seated. Ronon turned back as he was going through the door, “Coming?”

“I…I didn’t know if it would be right.”

The corner of Ronon’s mouth rose slightly. “Sheppard wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you. You belong here.” With a jerk of his head, Ronon indicated he wanted Brody to follow; the Satedan proceeded to enter the infirmary.

Sheppard’s bed was in the back right corner of the infirmary, away from the two other patients. The lights over his bed were low, only a dim glow illuminating him. He hated bright lights in his eyes when he was in the infirmary. He was a mass of wires and tubes; tubing from three IV’s and electrical wires leading from several monitors to the leads attached to his head and chest. At his bedside was a nurse was wiping beads of sweat from his face and neck, while a doctor from the Hammond was reading from a Pad.

As they approached the bed, his team members saw the multiple bruises on his face and neck, and the laceration along his cheek. Sheppard was pallid, gaunt, exhaustion clearly visible on his face; dark circles rimmed his closed eyes. Rodney hurried Sheppard's side, Teyla and Ronon on his heels. Beckett, Mitchell, and Brody held back a bit, letting the colonel’s team surround him.

Beckett introduced the doctor as Hammond neurologist, Franklin Moores, then asked the doctor, “Could you update the colonel’s team on his condition, Franklin?”

The doctor looked up, “I was just going over his chart. Right now, Colonel Sheppard is resting comfortably; these seizures sap a great deal of energy from him. Once they subside, he falls into a very deep sleep, but his vitals are improving now. The IV’s have helped replenish his fluid levels and the anti-seizure drugs have begun to calm the seizures, but he’s still experiencing them. He has one broken rib and one cracked ribs on his left side, and his legs and torso are covered with deep muscle bruises. We’ve changed the bandages on the cuts he received on his face, arm and thigh. Fortunately, his wounds were clean; he received some medical care during his captivity, rather more like first aid. At this point, the only thing we can do is wait for the hyperactivity to dissipate.” The doctor withdrew and Carson walked out with him.

“John, can you hear me?” Rodney asked, but received no response. Rodney looked dejected; Teyla slipped her arm around Rodney, pulling him close.

“John is sleeping very deeply right now, Rodney. Be patient, he will wake soon and talk with us. The important thing is that he is safe.”

One by one, Sheppard’s team and Brody clustered around him, taking chairs from around the infirmary to build a semi-circular barrier to Sheppard’s bed. Mitchell left to check on the interrogations going on with the Alliance prisoners. Beckett had returned, a bit later, with Dr. Simpson, the Hammond’s medical director. The two doctors exchanged a knowing glance; they were well aware that once his team was inside the infirmary, they wouldn’t leave.

The next few hours had been trying on everyone. Sheppard suffered two more violent seizures, not waking up at any point. The hours were passing very slowly. Ronon had taken Rodney’s place and was pacing but eventually he tired and was leaning against the wall next to Sheppard’s bed. He was the first to realize that Sheppard was stirring. Ronon straightened up, and took a short step to reach the bed.

Sheppard sensed the movement, and turned his head toward the Satedan. “R-Ron..Ronon?

“Yeah, buddy, it’s me. Teyla, McKay and Brody Myles are here, too.” The others scrambled to surround the bed.

“Bro-dy, safe,” Sheppard’s eyes were heavy lidded, he reached out with his hand, but was too weak to grab Ronon. Teyla reached over and clasped his hand in hers. She motioned to Brody to come closer.

The sergeant seemed stunned that Sheppard would ask about him, “Colonel, I’m here. Glad you’re back with us, sir.”

Rodney was standing next to Brody, “Hey, flyboy, welcome back.”

“W-where…am…I?”

“You’re on the Hammond, we rescued you several hours ago from the Alliance.”

“Go…” Sheppard was trying to talk, but his voice was becoming shaky.

“Go where, John?” McKay asked.

“G-go…home,” he began, but he was beginning to tremble.

Teyla gently squeezed his hand and replied softly, “We will take you home, John.” She looked at the men standing along side her. As tears spilled from her glistening, dark eyes “We will take him home.”

Seconds later, he suffered another strong seizure. It was the beginning of a long night.

Colonel Carter had come by the infirmary a few times during the ensuing hours. In addition, she had ordered food and coffee, and Athosian tea, delivered to the waiting team throughout the night. It was very early in the morning when she and Mitchell came in together. Ronon was dozing, and Teyla was sound asleep, curled up in a chair Ronon had taken from Dr. Moores’ office for her. It was a large leather office chair, just the right size for Teyla to snuggle in. Brody had been ordered into a hospital bed by Dr. Simpson. The doctor was not at all happy with the swelling in Brody’s leg with the broken ankle. His only concession was to locate the bed next to Sheppard’s. Only Rodney was awake when Carter and Mitchell returned.

“How is he?” Carter asked quietly.

Rodney looked exhausted, “He had seizures about every two hours over night.”

Carter shook her head, “His brain was flooded with electrical impulses, which caused his neurons to become hyper-excited. Beckett is certain that as the energy dissipates, his brain will calm down to normal activity.”

“Yeah, Beckett was here a little while ago, and said the latest EEG showed John’s brain activity was becoming more stable. The improvement didn’t come quick enough though, John re-injured his ribs during a fairly violent seizure. He twisted to the left abruptly and the cracked rib is now broken all the way through.”

Mitchell winced, his body shuddering, “That’s gotta hurt.”

Beckett walked up; he had managed a couple of hours sleep, but still looked very tired. “Good morning, all; I heard part of your conversation. He is improving, but I suspect that it will be a few weeks before he’s completely out of the woods.”

“Cam and I came down to let you know that we will be returning to Earth. The Apollo is going to remain here with the Ha’tak and deal with the Alliance. Geron, Nera, and the others involved in Colonel Sheppard’s kidnapping will be taken to Earth and held under SGC control. The NID is searching Earth for the Trust members Sergeant Myles believed were involved.”

McKay interrupted, “Sam, is there still a threat to Sheppard? I mean, they didn’t get what they wanted. Do you think they will try again?”

“I suppose if we break up the Trust operation that will take the threat level down quite a bit. John is certainly the one person who holds the key to Atlantis. I don’t think the Lucian Alliance will walk away that easily. However, I also imagine that until the Trust operation is taken down and the threat level is lowered, none of you will come to Earth and be allowed to move around without escort.”

Colonel Carter, what about the young slaver, Densin? The Ori destroyed his world, and he had no where else to go. I believe he joined the slavers as a way to get off his desolate world. I think he’s a good kid, who didn’t know what else to do. I would like to see him get a second chance.” Beckett seemed quite concerned.

Carter replied, “The slavers have been turned over for trial; the ones who cooperated will be given special consideration. I’ll pass word on for Jamison to speak to the council who is going to hold the trial, and put in a word for Densin.” Beckett nodded, and Carter continued, “In case you are interested, we are confiscating the Ha’tak. If the IOA concurs, we will most likely turn the shop over to the Jaffa High Council.”

“Hey, doc; while searching the Ha’tak, Captain Isaacs’ team found a man hiding in the service corridors, near engineering.” Mitchell said. “His name is Jarva Pacur, and he claims he’s a doctor; said he treated Sheppard while on the Ha’tak. He also said he helped Sheppard escape. He was the one who shut down the engines and hyperdrive from Sheppard’s instructions. Pacur said Sheppard shattered the shield crystals before the Alliance recaptured him. The guy also had the back-up crystals in his possession. He told Lorne that Sheppard told him to find the back-up set and hide it from Geron.”

“I’d like to talk to him. I would like to know about the condition Sheppard was in before they hooked him up to that infernal machine.” Beckett replied.

“Certainly, I’ll have him beamed aboard. You can talk to him while we on our way back to Earth.” Carter turned to leave.

“No.”

Carter turned back and looked at Rodney, who had firmly, and quite loudly, uttered the word no. She didn’t say anything, simply tilted her head and waited for Rodney to explain.

“No, we have to go to Atlantis.”

“Rodney, John is hurt and he needs medical care. The SGC is prepared to take care of his injuries.”

“What he needs, Sam, is to go home.”

“Then we’ll take him home, Rodney.”

Rodney’s bright blue eyes were full of emotion and were pleading with Sam. “No, he wants to go home, he wants to go to Atlantis. He told me…us.”

Carter took a very deep breath, “Rodney, he needs…”

Rodney interrupted her, “No, home is Atlantis for us, Sam. You of all people know that. John will recuperate better there, he needs Atlantis. She’ll help heal him.” Rodney’s eyes never left Carter’s. “He needs to go home.”

She stared at Rodney for a long moment, then looked at Beckett, “Doctor; can the Hammond infirmary provide you with adequate support to treat Colonel Sheppard? “

“Aye, colonel; Dr. Simpson, Dr. Moores, and the staff are exceptional, and all the equipment we could possibly need is onboard.”

“I’ll need to check supplies. We can probably raid the Apollo for anything we need.” She turned to Mitchell, “Get all the Atlantis personnel over here and yourself on the Apollo, colonel, unless you would like to go to Atlantis.” She grinned.

“I’d love to, but Landry would probably have my hide. I get all the personnel squared away, ASAP. Doc, I’ll have a Marine squad beam over with this Jarva guy, so you can talk to him before you leave. If what he says is true, we might cut a deal with him if he can give us information about Nera and the Alliance. Safe journey everyone, and take care of my bro, OK?”

“We will; Colonel Mitchell, thank you, for what you did to help find John.” Teyla replied. She and Ronon had been awakened by Rodney’s ‘no’ and had joined the group.

“Gotta take care of my fellow flyboys,” and with that, Mitchell took off to attend to his tasks.

“Sam, thanks.” Rodney said quietly.

“No thanks, necessary…John needs to go home.”

~ooOOOoo~

 

“You sure you can walk on that ankle?”

“Yeah, it really doesn’t hurt. I think the doctor put this cast on as punishment, at Dr. Lam’s request. She wasn’t exactly happy that I snuck out of the SGC infirmary, even if General Landry did bust me out.”

“Yeah, these docs frown on anyone breaking out of the infirmary. I know that first hand. I got to know Lam when I was at the SGC for a few months. She can be tough, but wait ‘til you meet Dr. Keller. She’s no pushover. Keller makes Beckett look like a pussycat.” Sheppard stumbled slightly and reached for the corridor wall to steady himself.

“You OK, sir?” Brody asked.

“Yeah, I get a bit dizzy every now and then, but a lot better now. The seizures are getting fairly infrequent and not as intense. I’ve gotten pretty good at recognizing when a seizure is about to happen, up to a several minute warning now. Not feeling that way at the moment; I’m just tired. Let’s go to the mess hall and get some coffee.”

Once in the mess, they grabbed coffee, and pie, and found a table. “So, sir, how long before we reach Atlantis?”

“About another week, we were lucky in that we were on the fringes of the Milky Way closest to Pegasus when the Hammond headed in this director. That little fact shaved several days off our trip.”

“You know, sir; getting to travel around my own galaxy was the most exciting thing I thought I would ever have the opportunity to do. But here we are, flying on spaceship to another galaxy. It’s a little hard to get my head around this whole thing.” Brody glanced out the mess hall viewport, as the ship hurtled through hyperspace.

“Brody, two things,” Sheppard seemed a bit uncomfortable, not looking at Brody, but at his coffee cup. “I…I wanted to thank…thank you for all that did to get me….out of…uh…that mess. You did good.”

Brody seemed as uncomfortable as Sheppard. “No thanks necessary, colonel; I was glad I was there to help.” Both men seemed embarrassed and reluctant to continue the conversation.

As he was recuperating, Sheppard had been getting reports about the efforts of the SGC, NID, his own team, and Brody to find him. Brody had done an exceptional job in getting back to the SGC. He saved his life, then saved his life again when he killed Dresa. When he spoke to General Landry before they were out of communication range, he had made a proposal, and Landry had agreed. Now, he needed to see if Brody liked his idea.

“Brody, after the events of the last few weeks, you probably won’t be able to do a lot of undercover work with the NID. I would imagine the Lucian Alliance will put a pretty big bounty on your head. So, General Landry will most likely reassign you to a SG team, but keep you away from areas the Lucian Alliance operates in. It will limit how much activity you can have. ”

“Yeah, I figured that, sir.”

“Well, if you were going to join a team, would you like to be assigned to the SGC or Atlantis?” Sheppard tried not to grin, but a little half-grin flashed across his face.

Brody’s face, however, broke into a full smile. “I could choose, sir? I could join a team on Atlantis? No question, I want to serve on Atlantis, if I can, sir.”

“Then consider yourself a member of my command, Sergeant Brody Myles.” He shook Brody’s hand, and then felt a slight tremor course through his body.

“Sergeant, I believe I need to get back to the infirmary; getting a little shaky. Bring the pie.”

As they were returning to the infirmary, Sheppard decided he would wait to tell Brody his other surprise until after they arrived in Atlantis. The sergeant had completed officer training prior to working for the NID. He then finished his bachelor’s degree while he was working for the NID. General Landry was processing the paper work promote him to lieutenant.

Later, as he awoke from the deep sleep that normally accompanied the seizures, he was aware that his team had, once more, gathered around his bed. He glanced over to see Brody back in the bed next to him. He felt content. He had his team, his friends, and he was going home to Atlantis. Only one thing kept him from feeing completely content. That would come when Isabella finally entered his life.

~ooOOOoo~

“There you are. Are you supposed to be out of the infirmary?”

“Yeah, no…yeah, at least, I can walk around during the day; still have to stay the night. Jennifer’s afraid I’ll have another seizure. My EEG is finally normal, and I haven’t had a seizure since the last one I had on the Hammond. That was five days ago; Jennifer’s just being cautious.”

“Well, she should be cautious. What the hell are you doing out on the pier by yourself? Do you really have a death wish? What happens if you had a seizure out here and there was no one around to see your sorry ass go over the side, making a splash?” Rodney’s voice was building to a crescendo with each word he uttered.

Sheppard flashed Rodney a snarky look, but didn’t answer. Rodney sat down next to him along the edge of the pier.

“She was there, Rodney.”

“Who was where?”

“Isabella, she was in the VR the Trust implanted in my head.”

“Isabella, the same Isabella from the dreams Teer gave you when that crazy Marine tortured us?”

Sheppard nodded.

“How did the Trust know about her? I thought I was the only one you told about her.”

“They didn’t know. Brody said that the device could translate the visuals that I was seeing in my head, transmitting them to a video screen. They saw her; Brody asked me who she was, and I told him. That’s when he told me that she wasn’t written into the code. He said that she wasn’t included in the list of people and images to use when they wrote the VR program. My ex-wife, Nancy, was supposed to be my ‘wife’; they were going to use her image to persuade me to give up details about Atlantis. Brody said, somehow, I inserted Isabella into the program.”

“You rewrote the VR program after it was implanted?” Rodney spoke each word slowly; the inflection in his voice revealing his astonishment.

“I guess so; I don’t know how. Maybe I just needed her to be there.”

“John, you rewrote a computer program implanted in your head.” Rodney didn’t say anything for a moment, a bit overwhelmed by what he had just heard. “ That’s impressive; to add a completely new character into a program like that…I’m beginning to think your ability to use the ATA gene is getting more powerful.” Rodney stared at his friend, wondering what changes could be going on in his head.

Sheppard didn’t react to Rodney’s comment about the gene. He was oblivious to anything except Isabella at the moment. “No, you don’t understand, Rodney, she was there. For a few minutes, the real Isabella, instead of the VR Isabella, was there; Teer sent her. Teer made it possible for her to enter the VR with me. Apparently Teer was forbidden by the others to have any contact with me, so she used Isabella. She sent Isabella to tell me that Brody was trying to rescue me. For a few minutes, Rodney, I spoke to the real Isabella, looked into her eyes.” He stopped short of telling Rodney about the kiss.

“Teer sent her…how…wait, is this Isabella an Ascended Ancient? Oh, don’t tell me, Sheppard…not another Ascended Ancient woman falling at your feet.”

Sheppard chuckled, “No. She's not ascended, Rodney, but she is real, very real.” His voice trailed off for a second, then he continued, “She told me that she dreams about me as well. She has also been told that we will meet, someday. I hope, someday soon.”

Rodney didn’t know what to say, so he didn’t say anything. They sat in silence for a few minutes before Sheppard stood up from his seat on the edge of the pier. “Hungry?”

“Yeah, I could eat.” He grabbed Sheppard’s outstretched hand, standing up with Sheppard’s help. He tried to ignore the fact that Sheppard winced a bit from the strain on his healing broken ribs, but he knew better than to mention it.

As they walked away, Rodney noticed the pensive look on his friend’s face, and asked, “You OK?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, Rodney.” To himself, he added, “At least, I will be…soon.”

~ooOOOoo~

Far from Atlantis, she stirred from another night of restless sleep, restless from worry about him. Nearly a month had passed since she was with him and she had heard nothing. Perhaps she wasn’t supposed to know if he was alright, but she wanted to know, needed to know.

A soft voice had drifted into her thoughts, awakening her. Lifting her head from the pillow, Isabella looked toward the balcony doors, it was still night. She heard the soft, soothing, voice again; very clearly this time.

“He is safe.”

The voice was gone, and she was alone again. Isabella rose and walked onto the large balcony. The night was clear, thousands of crystal stars sparkling in the sky. The warm breeze from the ocean drifted across the bay, gently blowing her gossamer gown around her. As she looked across the cove, in the distance, illuminated by the orange-pink glow from the nebula, she could see the tall spires of the city rising toward the glittery sky. She looked up at the beautiful, vibrant nebula, floating against the darkness. A joyous smile slipped across her face as she whispered to the nebula.

“He is safe.”

 

The end…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again…I really hope you enjoyed Remember Atlantis. Feedback would be much appreciated. I would love to hear from if you liked the story of if you didn't. I would also like to know how you feel about Isabella. I am planning on a few more stories about Isabella and John…they will meet. I would really appreciate feedback on how you feel about her. If you have second to respond, please let me know.
> 
> Thanks!!!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for taking time to read Remember Atlantis. I would appreciate any and all comments.
> 
> The first two chapters are establishing the framework of the story, Chapter 3 will begin to unravel the mystery, Chapters 4 on…that's when the action/adventure, and real whump begins. Hope you enjoy!


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